Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $4,880,113.84 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This trade represents a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $158.41. 491,563 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,895,792. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.04. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $161.28. The stock has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.65.

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.