Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Sells $1,367,913.68 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $3.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $162.67. The stock had a trading volume of 3,411,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,908,053. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.29 and a 200 day moving average of $136.21. The stock has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.28.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on YUM. TD Securities boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.