XTX Topco Ltd Takes $3.91 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,157 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,912,000. Yum! Brands comprises 0.3% of XTX Topco Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $418,692,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $252,272,000 after buying an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $58,712,000 after buying an additional 255,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,284,171 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $306,444,000 after acquiring an additional 244,264 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.13. 1,768,214 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,870. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $152.19 and a 200 day moving average of $140.18. The firm has a market cap 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on YUM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $152.71.

Yum! Brands Company 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.