BMO Capital Markets Increases Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $135.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $133.00 to $135.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential downside of 1.02% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.19.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of YUM traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $136.39. 596,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,978,707. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.40.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.