Tracy Skeans Sells 1,837 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Key Points

• Yum! Brands COO Tracy Skeans sold 1,837 shares on May 15 at an average price of $152.00, totaling about $279,224. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, and her direct holdings fell 34.44% to 3,497 shares.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on April 29, with EPS of $1.50 versus the $1.39 consensus and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts now expect Yum! Brands to post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Yum! Brands also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, payable June 12, for an annualized payout of $3.00 and a 2.0% yield. Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $176.22.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) COO Tracy Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $151.32. 492,136 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,833,381. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.88 and a 200 day moving average of $155.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be 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 is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on YUM. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $185.00 price objective on Yum! Brands and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Yum! Brands by 124.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,422,000 after buying an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the second 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 grew its position in Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted multiple earnings estimates for Yum! Brands, including FY2026, FY2027 and FY2028, signaling analysts see stronger long-term profit growth ahead. Analyst estimate updates for Yum! Brands
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, reinforcing its cash return profile and supporting investor confidence. Yum! Brands declares quarterly dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Restaurants India reported FY24 profit of Rs 162 crore on 13% higher income, while the franchisee’s narrower loss on stronger KFC sales suggests improving momentum in a key international market. Yum Restaurants India FY24 results
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketWatch note said Yum! Brands underperformed some competitors on Wednesday, but the article did not point to a new company-specific problem. Yum! Brands stock underperforms competitors
• Negative Sentiment: Broader restaurant-sector pressure remains a backdrop after a pizza chain filed Chapter 11, highlighting ongoing cost and competition concerns for the industry. Pizza restaurant chain files Chapter 11

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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