Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,785 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,222 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $36,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $816,392.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,353,416.32. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $155.72 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.69. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

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 paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. 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 (DPR) is presently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Securities upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.79.

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.