Robert W. Baird Has Lowered Expectations for Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock Price

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $176.00 to $174.00 in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 23.13% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price target (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sixteen investment 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.24.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $141.32 on Monday. Yum! Brands has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.71. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total value of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 86.6% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,799 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,777,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 455.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 14,149 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,977,000 after buying an additional 11,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,727 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.