Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock: Insider Christopher Lee Turner Sells 285 Shares

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total value of $39,931.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,858,454.75. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher Lee Turner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $140.34. 2,335,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,154,750. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.17. The firm has a market cap of $38.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.26 and a 52 week high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its Q4 2027 EPS estimate to $2.05 from $2.03, its FY2027 forecast to $6.92 from $6.90, and its FY2028 estimate to $7.71 from $7.70. The revisions indicate slightly improved expectations for Yum!’s long-term earnings, although Zacks maintained a “Hold” rating. Zacks Research Predicts Higher Earnings for Yum! Brands
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen maintained a “Buy” rating and lowered its price target only modestly to $177 from $180, implying substantial potential upside from recent levels. TD Cowen adjusts Yum! Brands price target
• Positive Sentiment: KFC introduced a $3.49 Go Buckets snack meal designed for on-the-go customers. The low-priced offering could support traffic and provide a new avenue for sales, though its financial impact is likely limited initially. KFC launches Go Buckets snack meal
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison of Yum! Brands and Domino’s highlights the trade-off between dividend growth and share-price stability. The discussion may influence income-focused investors but does not represent a company-specific operating update. YUM versus DPZ dividend comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Guggenheim cut its price target sharply to $155 from $180, while keeping a “Buy” rating. JPMorgan also reduced its target to $150. These cuts preserve a constructive view but signal that analysts see less near-term upside than previously expected. Guggenheim adjusts Yum! Brands price target JPMorgan cuts Yum! Brands price target

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $740,462,000 after acquiring an additional 4,317,526 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $279,432,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, which specializes in fried and cooked chicken; Taco Bell, known for Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which offers pizza and related products; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual chain focused on chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shakes.

The company primarily uses a franchised business model, working with franchisees and licensees to operate restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories.