PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Invests $47.02 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab opened a new position of 308,976 shares in Yum! Brands valued at approximately $47.02 million, leaving institutional investors with about 82.37% ownership of the company.
• Yum! reported a Q1 beat with $1.50 EPS versus $1.39 expected and revenue up ~15%, driven by strong Taco Bell comps, KFC international/ delivery growth, and a record ~63% of system sales from digital, though Pizza Hut continues to lag.
• Insiders sold roughly 14,665 shares (~$2.37 million) recently—mostly under 10b5‑1 plans—while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (1.9% yield) and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a ~$176 target.

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 308,976 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $47,020,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab owned 0.11% of Yum! Brands as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUM. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and margin upside — Yum reported Q1 EPS of $1.50 (above estimates) with revenue up ~15% and a large profit jump; digital sales reached a record (~63% of system sales), supporting better-than-expected fundamentals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell strength and improving visibility — Analysts (Morgan Stanley coverage cited) highlight Taco Bell’s continued comp strength and loyalty/digital engagement gains as drivers of near-term visibility and growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC global expansion and delivery gains — Management and industry write-ups point to KFC fueling international growth, helping the company’s top-line and margin mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target moves are modestly supportive but ratings remain conservative — Citi and Wells Fargo raised price targets slightly but maintain neutral/equal-weight ratings, limiting immediate bullish catalyst strength. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales executed under 10b5‑1 plans — CEO Scott Mezvinsky and CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold shares (pre-arranged plans); such filings can create near-term selling pressure but are less informative about company fundamentals. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut lagging — Coverage highlights Pizza Hut’s continued underperformance, which can blunt overall company upside and keep investors cautious until a clearer turnaround is visible. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,665 shares of company stock valued at $2,374,563. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE YUM opened at $158.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $169.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $154.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. TD Cowen lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight 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 $176.06.

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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