KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 98,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $13,181,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $151.79.

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Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,353,416.32. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, reaching $155.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,836,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,929. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.03. The company has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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