Commerce Bank Sells 1,666 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Commerce Bank lowered its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,666 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $14,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,123,000 after acquiring an additional 104,328 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 140.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,763,000 after purchasing an additional 73,844 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 18.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 7,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $984,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of YUM opened at $132.88 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.50. The company has a market capitalization of $37.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.70 and a 52-week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on YUM shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.94.

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.