Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $144.43 and last traded at $141.58, with a volume of 982810 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.25.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.05.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by 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.