Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) PT Raised to $144.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $137.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

YUM has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an outperform rating to an inline rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a neutral rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE YUM opened at $131.03 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.62. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,955,351.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 101,629 shares of company stock valued at $13,888,443 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $456,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $6,156,000. Centennial Bank AR boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 1,945 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.