Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,834 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Yum! Brands worth $52,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,991,573,000 after purchasing an additional 124,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $706,799,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,471,127 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $676,392,000 after buying an additional 104,512 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $40,105.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,272,013.44. The trade was a 0.39% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Yum! Brands News

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

Several analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.71 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $154.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.85. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

About Yum! Brands

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.