Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 441,928 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $59,289,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Yum! Brands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,403,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 24,937 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 15,847 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 279.2% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 5,878 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 4,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

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Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.47. 629,754 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,910,995. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30. The company has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.67.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley restated 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.42.

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.