Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $150.95.

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.0 %

YUM stock opened at $157.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.12 and its 200-day moving average is $137.39.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.