Signaturefd LLC Has $906,000 Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Signaturefd LLC cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,756 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of YUM opened at $157.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $142.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.53. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30.

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 issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.95.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.