Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $151.00 to $153.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.2%

Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $147.83. 446,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,984,604. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.86.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.42% and a negative return on equity of 20.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value of $1,043,352.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total transaction of $40,332.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,720 shares of company stock worth $2,150,965. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

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.