Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $44,452.96 in Stock

Key Points

• Yum! Brands CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares on May 1 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan for $44,452.96, reducing his holding by 36.45% to 483 shares.
• Q1 results beat expectations: Yum! posted $1.50 EPS vs. $1.39 consensus and $2.06B revenue, with record ~63% digital sales and strong unit growth internationally.
• Dividend and market reaction: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (≈1.9% yield), analysts’ average price target is about $175.83, yet the stock fell ~1.1% on light volume after the report.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,511.84. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 26th, Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $47,149.68.
• On Friday, February 13th, Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total transaction of $265,383.56.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of YUM traded down $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.96. The company had a trading volume of 493,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,528. The firm has a market cap of $43.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.77 and a 200-day moving average of $154.46. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.83.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations: Yum reported $1.50 EPS (vs. ~$1.38 consensus) and revenue of $2.06B, with adjusted profit rising sharply (reported ~71% year-over-year). Digital sales were a record ~63% of system sales (near $11B), highlighting strong margin and delivery gains. YUM Q1 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell continues to drive growth: same-store sales up ~8% in Q1; CEO Christopher Turner cites a resonating loyalty program that is boosting frequency and digital engagement—a clear growth lever for the portfolio. Taco Bell loyalty and digital sales
• Positive Sentiment: Global expansion momentum: KFC-led international growth and steady unit openings (over 1,000 new units in the fiscal start) are supporting system sales and earnings leverage. QSRWeb on KFC growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts nudged targets higher: Citi raised its price target to $175 (neutral) and Wells Fargo to $165 (equal weight), reflecting upside to current levels and showing institutional acknowledgment of the beat and growth drivers. Benzinga analyst updates
• Neutral Sentiment: New growth initiatives: Yum is investing in AI menu boards, beverage innovation and menu modernization to drive next-phase sales and ticket growth; these are longer-term catalysts rather than immediate EPS drivers. Restaurant Dive on AI/menu innovation
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed brand performance: Taco Bell is the clear outperformer while Pizza Hut shows more modest results, leaving overall upside somewhat concentrated in a single brand. Investors should watch brand-level comps. Seeking Alpha on brand mix
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term sell-the-news and low liquidity: the stock traded lower today on light volume (well under its average), suggesting profit-taking despite the beat. Also note a flagged negative return on equity in company filings, which can concern value- and ROE-focused investors.

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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