Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $148.20 and last traded at $146.62, with a volume of 2541818 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $148.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.08. The company has a market capitalization of $40.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $252,272,000 after buying an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,712,000 after purchasing an additional 255,495 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $30,098,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 147,180 shares during the period. 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.