Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 944,749 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 19,210 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.34% of Yum! Brands worth $126,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $147.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.96 and a 200 day moving average of $140.52. The company has a market cap of $41.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180.48. This trade represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was 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 ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $152.62.

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.

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