Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Raised to $150.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Securities lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.95.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.1 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $155.09 on Thursday. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.07. The firm has a market cap of $43.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

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

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.