NEOS Investment Management LLC Buys 3,731 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen investment 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 an average price target of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $157.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,510,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.69.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $816,392.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,353,416.32. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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.