Sentry Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Sentry Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 227.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,084 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 649.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $151.29 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $155.18. The firm has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.34.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

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.