Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 76,498 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,625,301 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 76,498 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.05% of Yum! Brands worth $4,511,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,038,775,000 after buying an additional 111,147 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $315,996,000 after acquiring an additional 94,026 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,677,290 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $225,025,000 after purchasing an additional 44,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 749,895 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $95,792,000 after purchasing an additional 144,406 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,836,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,929. The company's 50 day moving average is $144.62 and its 200-day moving average is $138.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

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 paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total value of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on YUM. Barclays raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.79.

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.