Amundi Buys 144,406 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 749,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,406 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $95,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 51.3% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 1,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $2,147,000. Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 22,279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,989,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $892,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $263,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $157.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.32 and its 200 day moving average is $136.52. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

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 value of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,654 shares of company stock worth $7,659,176. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on YUM. UBS Group increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.42.

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.