Commerce Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,358 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 33,521 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,263. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.30 on Friday, hitting $137.65. 1,453,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,133,299. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.53.

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.