Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management cut its Yum! Brands stake by 31.1% in Q1, selling 618,030 shares and leaving it with 1.37 million shares valued at about $213 million.
• Yum! Brands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 beating estimates and revenue rising 15.2% year over year to $2.06 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of 6.74.
• The company’s board authorized a $4 billion stock buyback, and Yum! also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 31.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,370,088 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 618,030 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands comprises 2.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.50% of Yum! Brands worth $213,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $706,799,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $632,950,000 after buying an additional 1,240,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $168,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $147.10 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $154.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands announced Nai De Leon will become Chief People & Culture Officer effective November 1, 2026, a move that adds a new senior leader and may support long-term organizational execution. Yum! Brands Appoints Nai De Leon as Chief People & Culture Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands said a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, which could ease some concerns if confirmed and help reduce the risk of further reputational damage. Market Chatter: Yum! Brands Says Positive Cyclospora Test on Taylor Farms Lettuce was False Positive
• Neutral Sentiment: ThaiBev is exploring a sale of its KFC franchise business in Thailand, but the report does not suggest an immediate change to Yum! Brands’ operations or financial outlook. ThaiBev Weighs Sale of Thailand's Largest KFC Franchise With 500+ Restaurants
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said Taco Bell traffic fell sharply after lettuce was tied to a parasite outbreak, raising concern that the issue could hurt same-store sales and damage Yum! Brands’ near-term performance. Taco Bell Traffic Sinks After Lettuce Tied to Parasite Outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Taco Bell visits dropped 19% after the lettuce-linked outbreak, reinforcing fears that the health scare is already weighing on restaurant demand. Taco Bell visits drop 19% after lettuce parasite outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary warned that Yum! Brands may be nearing a bearish “death cross,” which can add to selling pressure when sentiment is already weak. QUICK SPARK: Yum! Brands May Soon Serve Traders a Death Cross

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $40,105.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,272,013.44. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.81.

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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