Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 3,382 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,382 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,356,869,000 after purchasing an additional 684,946 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,179,636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,459,940,000 after purchasing an additional 487,069 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,348,846 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $509,025,000 after purchasing an additional 176,221 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,943,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $447,364,000 after purchasing an additional 153,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in Yum! Brands by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,735,106 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $415,736,000 after purchasing an additional 104,336 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $171.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $159.92 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.42. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39. The firm has a market cap of $44.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company results: Yum reported adjusted Q1 EPS of $1.50 (GAAP $1.55), above Street estimates, and revenue of $2.06B (up ~15% YoY). Management framed the quarter as a solid start to fiscal 2026. Yum! Brands Reports First-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell strength: Taco Bell posted ~8% same‑store sales growth, led by value, innovation and digital channels — the brand was singled out as the primary driver of the quarter’s outperformance. Taco Bell is the star for Yum! Brands again in Q1
• Positive Sentiment: Unit growth and global footprint: Yum opened more than 1,000 new units to start fiscal 2026, supporting system sales and long‑term revenue leverage from franchised expansion. Yum! Brands Opens More Than 1,000 Units in Strong Start to Fiscal 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reaction and commentary: News outlets and trade desks note shares reacting positively to the beat and management commentary; some coverage highlights digital growth and cross‑brand value strategies driving momentum. What’s going on with Yum! Brands stock today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call context: Management emphasized value menus, cross‑brand playbooks and digital product mix on the call — useful color for guidance and cadence but not a material revision to full‑year targets yet. Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed banner performance: While Taco Bell outperformed, coverage flags uneven results at other banners (Pizza Hut showing weakness), which tempers how durable the company‑wide upside is. Yum! Brands (YUM) Stock Surges as Taco Bell Delivers Stellar Q1 Performance
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation & capital metrics: YUM trades at a premium multiple (P/E ~28.8, PEG ~2.0) and company filings note a negative ROE figure, items investors will watch as expectations rise and as management allocates capital. YUM Stock Quote & News

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.