KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 98,248 Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 98,248 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $13,181,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $156.75 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.88. The firm has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,353,416.32. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.