Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,418,344 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 104,399 shares during the period. Yum! Brands makes up about 0.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Yum! Brands worth $190,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $418,692,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $252,272,000 after purchasing an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,284,171 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $306,444,000 after buying an additional 244,264 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,560,800.16. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $146.44. 632,165 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,311,604. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $151.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.31. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $152.62.

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.