Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Bought by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 329,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,238 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $48,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 695,059 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,649,000 after purchasing an additional 8,888 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 347,395 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,804,000 after purchasing an additional 57,112 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 11,532 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 430,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $65,423,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $24,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer cut Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.50.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE YUM opened at $159.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $160.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.96.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.05%.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated its rating and highlighted that Taco Bell and KFC retain solid momentum, calling Yum well positioned for continued growth — a supportive view ahead of earnings that can underpin confidence in top-line recovery and international expansion. Yum! Brands Backed by Taco Bell, KFC Momentum, UBS Says
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut relaunched “Hut Rewards” as a paid-style membership to deepen loyalty and drive frequency; if adoption lifts average unit volumes and retention, it supports long-term margins and comp growth. PIZZA HUT INTRODUCES NEW HUT REWARDS…
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a bullish style/metrics piece highlighting Yum as a growth stock based on its mix of brand strength and digital initiatives — a narrative that can attract growth-oriented investors. Here’s Why Yum Brands (YUM) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated a Hold / Sector Perform on Yum, signaling caution on near-term upside despite the company’s durable brands — a neutral-to-cautious analyst stance that can limit short-term rallies. Yum! Brands (YUM) Receives a Hold from RBC Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent valuation/write-ups note a consolidation after gains and show YUM trading at a premium vs. some peers; this keeps upside tied to execution rather than valuation multiple expansion. A Look At Yum Brands (YUM) Valuation After Recent Share Price Consolidation
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent transcripts and company commentary (Q2 2025 call) provide operational color but no new guidance; useful for modelling but unlikely to move the stock absent fresh metrics. Yum (YUM) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple earnings previews (Yahoo/Zacks) say Yum is likely to see EPS growth but lacks the two key ingredients typically needed for an earnings beat, flagging upside risk and raising the chance of disappointment at the upcoming report — a principal reason for downward pressure. Yum Brands (YUM) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week’s Release

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $40,176.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,840,607.94. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.