Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Raised to "Buy" at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $167.00 price objective on the restaurant operator's stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.30.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $142.78. 1,250,864 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,015,068. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $146.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. Yum! Brands has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.01. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 19.68%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.57%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.57, for a total value of $1,028,160.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,984,484.01. This trade represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.97, for a total value of $39,119.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,177.35. This represents a 13.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,763 shares of company stock valued at $2,637,564 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,321,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 29,997 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,720,000 after buying an additional 5,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrity Alliance LLC. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $291,000. 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.