BMO Capital Markets Boosts Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $135.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $133.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a hold rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $143.53.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.5 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $134.34 on Thursday. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $138.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.69. The company has a market capitalization of $37.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.