JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $138.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 2.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on YUM. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $156.75 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.