Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock: Insider Christopher Lee Turner Sells 285 Shares

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Turner sold 285 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total transaction of $39,931.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,225 shares in the company, valued at $8,858,454.75. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher Lee Turner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Christopher Turner sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 2.0%

YUM opened at $143.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.26 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.96.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its 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 net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 37.74%.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its EPS forecasts for Yum! Brands to $6.92 for fiscal 2027 and $7.71 for fiscal 2028, while raising its fourth-quarter 2027 estimate to $2.05 from $2.03. The firm maintains a Hold rating, but the higher estimates suggest improving earnings expectations. Zacks Research Predicts Higher Earnings for Yum! Brands
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen maintained its Buy rating while trimming its price target to $177 from $180. The revised target still implies substantial upside from recent trading levels, supporting investor confidence in YUM’s valuation. TD Cowen Adjusts Price Target on Yum! Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor coverage remains mixed but generally constructive. Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” with analysts citing the company’s global franchise model, dividend and recently authorized $4 billion share-repurchase program as potential supports. A comparison of YUM and Domino’s also highlights the trade-off between dividend growth and share-price stability. YUM versus DPZ dividend comparison
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 285 shares for approximately $39,931, reducing his direct holdings by 0.45%. Because the transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represents a small portion of his remaining stake, it is a limited negative signal rather than a clear change in management’s outlook. Yum! Brands CEO insider sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, which specializes in fried and cooked chicken; Taco Bell, known for Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which offers pizza and related products; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual chain focused on chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shakes.

The company primarily uses a franchised business model, working with franchisees and licensees to operate restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories.