Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,531 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 6,397 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $418,692,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $252,272,000 after purchasing an additional 452,339 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $58,712,000 after buying an additional 255,495 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $30,098,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.45. 485,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,016,973. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $152.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.08. The company has a market capitalization of $40.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.71.

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.