Cantillon Capital Management LLC Acquires 452,339 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 452,339 shares during the quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.67% of Yum! Brands worth $252,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,712,000 after buying an additional 255,495 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,098,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,403,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $156.43 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $156.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on YUM. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.32.

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.