Wealthspire Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,445,000 after purchasing an additional 178,612 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 147,180 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 624.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,005 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,158,000 after purchasing an additional 91,367 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 80.9% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 156,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,865,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $154.33 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $154.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. 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. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

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.