Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Position Raised by Black Diamond Financial LLC

Black Diamond Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 72,830 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $9,771,000 after acquiring an additional 8,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,823,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $148.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.02. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $151.29. The company has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Thirteen research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.