Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 2nd, 2026

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after purchasing an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted 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 purchasing an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 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 value of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,780 shares of company stock worth $2,940,693 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $152.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $153.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.70.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale streamlines the portfolio: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with an additional potential $75 million earn-out through 2030. The divestiture gives management more resources to focus on Taco Bell, KFC and other higher-growth businesses. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell expands in the UAE: Yum! Brands’ franchise partner Americana Restaurants signed an agreement to launch Taco Bell in the United Arab Emirates. The move expands the brand’s international footprint and could provide a long-term source of unit and royalty growth. Americana Restaurants signs deal to launch Taco Bell in UAE
Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was planned: CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares worth approximately $41,176, reducing his holdings by 35.7%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is less likely to represent a discretionary negative view of YUM’s valuation or outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Pizza Hut’s turnaround: The divestiture removes a slower-growing or challenged brand from Yum!’s consolidated portfolio, but it also reduces revenue diversification. Pizza Hut will now pursue its turnaround under private-equity ownership, while reports that Eduardo Luz is serving as interim CEO add uncertainty around the transition. The broader transaction, including the separate Mainland China deal, totals approximately $2.7 billion. Yum has sold Pizza Hut for $1.5B

Yum! Brands 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.