Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.37.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands 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 transaction of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $148.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $151.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.04.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.41%.

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.