Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its Yum! Brands stake by 8.1% in the first quarter, selling 44,626 shares and leaving it with 507,050 shares valued at about $78.8 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on Yum! Brands: analysts show a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a target price of $174.81, while the company also reported earnings that beat expectations last quarter.
• Yum! Brands has been active on capital returns, recently paying a $0.75 quarterly dividend and authorizing a $4 billion share repurchase plan, even as some recent insider sales have been disclosed.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 507,050 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 44,626 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.18% of Yum! Brands worth $78,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,447,000 after buying an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in 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 worth $19,294,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Citigroup lifted 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. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands reiterated its upcoming second-quarter earnings schedule, keeping attention on potential bottom-line improvement when results are released later this month. Yum! Brands Announces Q2 2026 Earnings and Conference Call Details
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts expect the Taco Bell lettuce scare to have a limited long-term impact, suggesting the stock could stabilize once the contamination issue is contained. The cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to Taco Bell is hitting some restaurant stocks, but don't expect a long-term impact
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on what Yum! Brands’ next quarterly report may show, with commentary pointing to expected earnings growth for the quarter. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Authorities linked Taco Bell’s shredded iceberg lettuce supplier to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, which could hurt Taco Bell sales, trigger cleanup costs, and create reputational risk for Yum! Brands. Sweetgreen Pares 26% Drop as Parasite Tied to Taco Bell Lettuce
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell has already removed the affected shredded lettuce in some states after government warnings, reinforcing concern that the outbreak may disrupt operations and consumer traffic in the near term. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.71 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $154.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.88. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given 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 was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands 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.

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