Korea Investment CORP Acquires Shares of 129,182 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 24th, 2026

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 129,182 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $20,651,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $153.31 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.98. The stock has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.65.

View Our Latest Stock Report on YUM

Yum! Brands News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands outlined a renewed consumer-growth strategy centered on strengthening brand engagement, digital capabilities, loyalty programs and operational execution across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The emphasis on personalized customer experiences and technology could support sales and franchisee performance. Yum! Brands Reveals New Path for Consumer Growth
Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies to its board, effective August 26. His experience managing global consumer brands and improving operations may add expertise as Yum! pursues growth and evaluates its portfolio. Yum! Brands Appoints Steve Bratspies to Board
Neutral Sentiment: Pizza Hut is using a football-themed branding promotion ahead of the NFL season. The marketing effort could increase near-term visibility, but it comes as Yum! advances the multibillion-dollar sale of the chain, making the strategic implications more important than the promotion itself. Pizza Hut Branding Change
Negative Sentiment: Shares faced pressure after Yum! announced a new chief executive officer. Although a leadership change could bring fresh momentum, investors may be concerned about execution risk and the direction of the company during the transition. Yum! Brands Slides on Naming New CEO
Negative Sentiment: An insider reportedly reduced a Yum! Brands equity stake by 28%, while executive share withholding related to restricted-stock-unit vesting was also disclosed. These transactions are not necessarily signals of deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment. Yum! Brands Insider Sale
Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and reputational uncertainty to the stock. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $39,972.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares in the company, valued at $9,766,528.65. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Free Report)

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.