Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,785 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 17,222 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.10% of Yum! Brands worth $36,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $418,692,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $683,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 15,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 29,378 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,941,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 447,178 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $59,671,000 after purchasing an additional 34,936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

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Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $158.96. 1,573,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,957,350. The stock has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average is $148.44 and its 200 day moving average is $139.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $151.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,560,800.16. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.