Bryce Point Capital LLC Invests $1.51 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after acquiring an additional 17,133 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $3,306,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $158.96 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $148.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30. The company has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G 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 given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180.48. This trade represents a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,353,416.32. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. 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.