Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 776,012 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 69.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 335,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 776,012 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Yum! Brands worth $45,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $153.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,271 shares of company stock worth $8,706,576. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $147.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,218,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $151.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.66.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

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.