Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Earns “Hold” Rating from TD Securities

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities researchers at TD Securities in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $164.00 target price on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Securities’ target price suggests a potential upside of 5.32% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on YUM. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE YUM opened at $155.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.14 and its 200 day moving average is $138.69.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owns 160,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This trade represents a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $525,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 62,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after purchasing an additional 14,077 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 114,652 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $15,382,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $43,944,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.