Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,411 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,947 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 27.5% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,709 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,568 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 11.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 89,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $11,253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $128.66. 932,618 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,979,051. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.05. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The company has a market cap of $36.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at $22,596,900.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands 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.