Graney & King LLC Makes New $116,000 Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $116,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.5% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 11.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 109,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $15,358,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 153,431 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,436,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,782 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,347 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,497,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE YUM opened at $155.68 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.18. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The firm has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.