Commerce Bank Has $13.81 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank has a stake worth $13.81 million in Yum! Brands, having reduced its holdings by 8.4% in the first quarter.
• Yum! Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0%.
• Analysts project Yum! Brands will deliver an EPS of 5.94 for the current year, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.86.

Commerce Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,781 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 8,016 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.9% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,674 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $698,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $11,142,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 17.6% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $397,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total value of $40,332.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value of $1,043,352.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,720 shares of company stock worth $2,150,965 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $145.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $145.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.26.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $162.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.86.

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.

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