Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE YUM opened at $156.75 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.99 and a 200-day moving average of $137.82. The stock has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total value of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.79.

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.