Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $160.00 to $176.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.13% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $159.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.21. The company has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $161.28.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,419 shares of company stock worth $6,196,298. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $418,692,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Yum! Brands by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $475,714,000 after purchasing an additional 601,361 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $252,272,000 after purchasing an additional 452,339 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,289,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,944,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.