Allworth Financial LP Grows Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,163 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 649.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.64. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

About Yum! Brands

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.