Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $151.68 and last traded at $152.31, with a volume of 61212 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $150.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.11.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 17,133 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $96,348,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966 shares during the period. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 15.1% in the third quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares during 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.