Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Downgraded to Market Perform Rating by Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $135.00 price objective on the restaurant operator's stock, down from their previous price objective of $140.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on YUM. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.89.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.4 %

YUM traded up $0.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $126.20. 2,493,920 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,948. The company's 50-day moving average is $133.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.60. The company has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.4% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.5% in the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Centennial Bank AR lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 1,945 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.