Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $41,175.52 in Stock

Posted by Geri Gentry on Sep 4th, 2026

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total transaction of $41,175.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,054.48. This trade represents a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

On Monday, August 3rd, Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $41,044.20.
On Wednesday, July 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $44,436.34.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of YUM opened at $152.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $153.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale improves portfolio focus: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut operations outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, plus a potential $75 million earn-out. Management can now concentrate capital and resources on Taco Bell, KFC and other higher-growth opportunities. The broader Pizza Hut transactions, including the Mainland China business, have been reported at approximately $2.7 billion. Yum! Brands completes U.S. sale of Pizza Hut
Positive Sentiment: $4 billion buyback supports shareholder returns: Yum! Brands’ repurchase authorization allows the company to buy back up to roughly 9.4% of its outstanding shares. If executed effectively, the program could reduce share count and provide support for earnings per share, although it also uses capital that could otherwise fund expansion or debt reduction. Dropping the Dough: Yum! Brands Strategically Trims the Fat
Positive Sentiment: New board expertise: Steve Bratspies, a former HanesBrands chief executive and Walmart senior executive, joined Yum!’s board and its Management Planning and Development Committee. His consumer, retail and merchandising experience may strengthen oversight and succession planning. What Could Steve Bratspies Bring to Yum! Brands
Neutral Sentiment: Investor conference appearance scheduled: Yum! Brands will participate in the Barclays Annual Global Consumer Conference. The event could provide updates on traffic, franchisee health, international growth and capital allocation, but no new financial outlook was announced. Yum! Brands to Participate in the Barclays Annual Global Consumer Conference
Neutral Sentiment: Planned insider selling: CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for about $41,176 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature and relatively small dollar value make the transaction a limited signal about management’s view of YUM’s valuation. Yum! Brands CEO sells shares
Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut transition carries execution risk: Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigned around the time of the sale, adding leadership uncertainty as the new owner develops a turnaround plan. The divestiture also reduces Yum!’s revenue diversification, while the fast-food industry continues to face softer traffic. Yum says Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigns

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its position in Yum! Brands by 63.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,124,462 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $179,756,000 after buying an additional 435,665 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $99,621,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 15,378.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,142,092 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $11,212,915,000 after acquiring an additional 69,688,945 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $327,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.3% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on YUM shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Yum! Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

View Our Latest Analysis on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Get 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.