UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Reduces Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd reduced its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 71.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,845 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 62,308 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $155.72 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.65. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.79.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 in the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.