Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Invests $1.30 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 8,374 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $706,799,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after buying an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $632,950,000 after buying an additional 1,240,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $168,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.1%

YUM opened at $147.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 48.39%.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands reiterated its upcoming second-quarter earnings schedule, keeping attention on potential bottom-line improvement when results are released later this month. Yum! Brands Announces Q2 2026 Earnings and Conference Call Details
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts expect the Taco Bell lettuce scare to have a limited long-term impact, suggesting the stock could stabilize once the contamination issue is contained. The cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to Taco Bell is hitting some restaurant stocks, but don’t expect a long-term impact
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on what Yum! Brands’ next quarterly report may show, with commentary pointing to expected earnings growth for the quarter. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Authorities linked Taco Bell’s shredded iceberg lettuce supplier to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, which could hurt Taco Bell sales, trigger cleanup costs, and create reputational risk for Yum! Brands. Sweetgreen Pares 26% Drop as Parasite Tied to Taco Bell Lettuce
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell has already removed the affected shredded lettuce in some states after government warnings, reinforcing concern that the outbreak may disrupt operations and consumer traffic in the near term. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven equities 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.81.

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.