Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 9,178 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Howland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 9,178 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $14,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of YUM. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 17.0% in the third quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 3,774 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $219,000. Iowa State Bank boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.6% in the third quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 20,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 408.2% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 747 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 13,812 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $143.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.82. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $144.71.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on YUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.