Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Posted by Brian Himes on Aug 23rd, 2026

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 31,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,087,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after buying an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after buying an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,294,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.65.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on YUM

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $153.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.98. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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.