Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target Lowered to $160.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $170.00 to $160.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 6.93% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.31.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $0.83 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 557,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,187. The company has a market capitalization of $41.24 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,386 shares of company stock worth $3,169,392. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after buying an additional 3,240,190 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,991,573,000 after acquiring an additional 124,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $706,799,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,471,127 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $676,392,000 after purchasing an additional 104,512 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Yum! Brands News

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell said its loyalty program is supporting digital-sales growth and plans to launch a redesigned app in the third quarter. The initiative could improve customer engagement and help accelerate sales recovery. Taco Bell credits its loyalty program for digital sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Fundsmith’s investment commentary highlighted Yum!’s rapid international expansion as a long-term growth driver, offering support for the company’s broader unit-growth and geographic-diversification strategy. Yum! Brands: Rapid Global Expansion Drives Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands’ vice president David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares worth approximately $1.22 million, reducing his direct ownership by about 40%. The transaction was executed under a 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a less significant discretionary bearish signal. SEC filing for David Eric Russell transaction
• Neutral Sentiment: Executives Christopher Lee Turner and Scott Mezvinsky also sold small portions of their holdings—about $40,000 and $41,000, respectively—under pre-arranged trading plans. These sales may attract attention but do not necessarily indicate a change in management’s outlook. Yum! Brands insider selling report
• Negative Sentiment: Michigan officials reportedly discussed the cyclospora outbreak with Taco Bell on July 2 and sought follow-up meetings before the issue became public. The report raises concerns about the company’s response, potential sales damage and additional reputational or financial consequences. Michigan warned Taco Bell before public cyclospora alert
• Negative Sentiment: Reports linked the outbreak to declining Taco Bell traffic and sales, with Michigan reporting additional deaths. Because Taco Bell is one of Yum!’s largest brands, investors are weighing whether the disruption will reduce near-term earnings and require costly remediation. Sweetgreen drops as Yum falls amid cyclospora concerns

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.