Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,798,345 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 45,287 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $279,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Econ Financial Services Corp grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.85. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

YUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.81.

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.