Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Reduces Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,158 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 19,801 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $154.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.79. The stock has a market cap of $43.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Citigroup reiterated 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. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.