Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stake Cut by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,520 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,511 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.06% of Yum! Brands worth $20,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Argus raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This trade represents a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 55,271 shares of company stock worth $8,706,576 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE YUM traded up $1.43 on Thursday, hitting $147.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,079,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,023,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $151.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.31.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Yum! Brands 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.