Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $144.43 and last traded at $141.58, with a volume of 982810 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.25.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 50.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.61.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.65.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.