Howland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Howland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 106,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,178 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $14,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 649.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $143.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.82. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $144.71.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.05.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.