JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $144.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $137.00 to $144.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on YUM. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $134.10. 680,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,957,817. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.75.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 94,624 shares of company stock worth $12,946,761. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 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.