Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $132.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $418,692,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $252,272,000 after purchasing an additional 452,339 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,712,000 after buying an additional 255,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,284,171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $306,444,000 after buying an additional 244,264 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.