Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Yum! Brands stake by 7.3% in the first quarter, selling 11,620 shares and retaining 148,077 shares worth approximately $23.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of YUM.
• Yum! Brands insiders sold 11,896 shares valued at approximately $1.87 million during the last quarter, including sales by CEOs Aaron Powell and Sean Tresvant. Insiders own just 0.14% of the company.
• YUM reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.62, beating estimates, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $174.94, and the company authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,077 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,620 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of Yum! Brands worth $23,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.5% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,896 shares of company stock valued at $1,869,148. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.94.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter earnings exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $1.62, above the $1.58–$1.59 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. Net income surged 128% to $853 million, supported by higher sales, strong Taco Bell performance and improved restaurant-level margins. Yum! Brands Reports Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut’s planned $2.7 billion sale could sharpen Yum’s focus. Management is exiting the weaker-performing Pizza Hut business and intends to concentrate capital and resources on KFC, Taco Bell and its other growth brands. Yum also outlined a KFC transformation strategy spanning its 20 largest markets through the end of 2027. Yum outlines Pizza Hut sale for $2.7B
• Positive Sentiment: Loyalty and digital initiatives remain growth drivers. Taco Bell and KFC are expanding rewards programs and using targeted promotions to increase customer frequency, while brand innovation and global restaurant expansion support longer-term sales growth. Yum Brands doubles down on loyalty

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.4%

YUM stock opened at $153.21 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $153.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.71. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The firm has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend 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%.

About Yum! Brands

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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