State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 745 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,172 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 745 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,805,000 after purchasing an additional 17,133 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,825,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $96,348,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966 shares during the period. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $147.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $149.30.

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. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands 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 directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.