Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 2,837 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,014 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. 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% 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 period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on YUM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $152.71.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.13. 1,768,214 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,021,870. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.18.

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 dividend of $0.71 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.