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

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,797 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,543 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $12,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $713,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 128.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,604 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,651,000 after purchasing an additional 16,767 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 64 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180.48. This trade represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of YUM traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $146.56. 625,649 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,017,675. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.31.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Monday, April 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $152.62.

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.