Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Given New $155.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.29.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.2%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $149.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.18. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.80, for a total value of $1,074,964.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,413,371.40. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total value of $1,811,492.80. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,084 shares of company stock valued at $4,457,537. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth $25,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other 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.