Mill Capital Management LLC Invests $2.45 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Mill Capital Management initiated a $2.45 million position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter by purchasing 15,329 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, exceeding estimates of $1.58, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program, covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $174.31, versus a recent share price of $148.21.

Mill Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $86,197,000 after buying an additional 31,836 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $1,589,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $88,030,000 after purchasing an additional 30,075 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,264,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,807 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $16,140,000 after purchasing an additional 17,189 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $148.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $153.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.19. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $170.14.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.31.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q2 2027 EPS forecast slightly to $1.68 from $1.67 and increased its Q2 2028 estimate to $2.03 from $1.91. These upgrades provide a limited positive signal for later-period earnings. MarketBeat Yum Brands analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted a public dispute involving Taco Bell’s former chief executive and McDonald’s. While it underscores competition in the fast-food sector, the article did not identify a material change to Yum!’s financial outlook. Why Taco Bell's former CEO just dissed McDonald's
• Neutral Sentiment: An investment article listed Yum! Brands among profitable stocks worth investigating, but offered a general discussion rather than a new company-specific catalyst. 2 Profitable Stocks Worth Investigating and 1 We Avoid
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut estimates for Q3 2026 EPS to $1.57 from $1.69 and FY2026 EPS to $6.47 from $6.77, roughly matching the current consensus of $6.50. It also reduced Q1 2027 EPS to $1.43 from $1.52, FY2027 EPS to $6.90 from $7.36, Q3 2027 EPS to $1.77 from $1.88, Q1 2028 EPS to $1.63 from $1.74, and FY2028 EPS to $7.70 from $8.01. Additional cuts lowered Q4 2026 EPS to $1.79 from $1.98 and Q4 2027 EPS to $2.03 from $2.29, outweighing the later-period upgrades.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of Yum! Brands investors. The announcement could add legal and reputational uncertainty, although the article did not establish wrongdoing or quantify any financial impact. Pomerantz investor alert regarding Yum Brands

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,482.86. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% 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.

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