Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Raised to $176.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target increased by Robert W. Baird from $160.00 to $176.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen equities 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.16.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $158.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $137.32 and a 200 day moving average of $135.88. The company has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $164.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 83,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,255,000 after buying an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 38,388 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,363,000 after buying an additional 9,046 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 10.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 657,951 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $91,922,000 after acquiring an additional 63,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.9% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 121,346 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 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.