Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $148.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock. Yum! Brands traded as high as $158.10 and last traded at $157.42, with a volume of 160430 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $156.37.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on YUM. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price objective (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 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 worth $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,805,000 after buying an additional 17,133 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,825,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 3.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after buying an additional 20,966 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $136.39 and a 200-day moving average of $135.59.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

About Yum! Brands

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.