Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,926,790 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 122,692 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $258,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $155.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.03. The firm has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180.48. The trade was a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the company’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 value of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.79.

Yum! Brands 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.