Cibc World Markets Corp Purchases 5,906 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,122 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 5,906 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 153.1% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $204,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.7% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,112 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,214 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,353,416.32. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,071,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,887,430. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $143.99 and its 200-day moving average is $137.85.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. 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 yield of 1.81%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

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.