Xponance Inc. Buys 1,343 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,273 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $6,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.3% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,712,000 after acquiring an additional 255,495 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $30,098,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 749,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,792,000 after acquiring an additional 144,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $157.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.98 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.72 and its 200 day moving average is $137.53.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on YUM. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus upgraded shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total transaction of $816,392.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at $24,353,416.32. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 in the last 90 days. Company 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.