Quent Capital LLC Boosts Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,057 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 4,927 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $146.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $148.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.08.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

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.