The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 148,077 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,620 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $23,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.4%
YUM stock opened at $153.21 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The stock has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $153.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.71.
Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.
Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have issued reports on YUM. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.94.
View Our Latest Research Report on Yum! Brands
Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands
Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $1.62, above the $1.58–$1.59 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. Net income surged 128% to $853 million, supported by higher sales, strong Taco Bell performance and improved restaurant-level margins. Yum! Brands Reports Second-Quarter Results
- Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut’s planned $2.7 billion sale could sharpen Yum’s focus. Management is exiting the weaker-performing Pizza Hut business and intends to concentrate capital and resources on KFC, Taco Bell and its other growth brands. Yum also outlined a KFC transformation strategy spanning its 20 largest markets through the end of 2027. Yum outlines Pizza Hut sale for $2.7B
- Positive Sentiment: Loyalty and digital initiatives remain growth drivers. Taco Bell and KFC are expanding rewards programs and using targeted promotions to increase customer frequency, while brand innovation and global restaurant expansion support longer-term sales growth. Yum Brands doubles down on loyalty
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,148 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Yum! Brands Company Profile
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.
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