Tracy Skeans Sells 1,837 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Tracy Skeans sold 1,837 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $150.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $157.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.00. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39. The firm has a market cap of $41.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.39%.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings estimates for Yum! Brands, including FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028, signaling improved profit expectations and a potentially stronger forward outlook for the restaurant operator.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, reinforcing its capital-return profile and offering income support for shareholders.
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands’ India franchisee reported stronger operating trends, including a narrower loss and higher profit in FY24, which may suggest solid underlying demand for KFC and related brands in key international markets. Article: Yum Brands’ India franchisee posts narrower loss on KFC sales upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: RestaurantBusiness Online highlighted leadership lessons and brand-building at Yum! Brands, but the piece appears more informational than market-moving. Article: Operator Spotlight – Building Brands Over Time: Leadership Lessons from Yum! Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted that Yum! Brands stock underperformed peers, which suggests some near-term relative weakness but does not by itself indicate a major fundamental shift. Article: Yum! Brands Inc. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares in a pre-arranged 10b5-1 transaction, a disclosure that can create a modest headwind for sentiment even though it was not a discretionary sale.
• Negative Sentiment: The pizza restaurant sector has been facing cost and demand pressure, highlighted by another chain’s Chapter 11 filing; while not specific to Yum!, it underscores broader industry caution for restaurant investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on YUM. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $706,799,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $632,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,777 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $168,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% 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.