Brokerages Set Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Price Target at $174.50

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.50.

Several research firms have commented on YUM. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,365,096. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total transaction of $265,383.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $160.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $157.64 and its 200 day moving average is $151.32. Yum! Brands has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.64.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.