one8zero8 LLC Invests $1.15 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $155.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.01 and a 200-day moving average of $137.07. The company has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, 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 $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,654 shares of company stock worth $7,659,176. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.95.

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.