Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,970 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 346,430 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 5,970 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Yum! Brands worth $46,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 649.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its position in Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.6 %

Yum! Brands stock traded down $2.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,187,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,199,616. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $151.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $134.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.93. The firm has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $147.37.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.