Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $1,937,280.00 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Aaron Powell also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, November 11th, Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total transaction of $419,839.20.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $162.14. The stock had a trading volume of 229,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,394. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $163.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $152.98 and its 200-day moving average is $149.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Taco Bell and international KFC performance helped revenue beat estimates, supporting growth narrative for Yum’s core brands. Yum Brands posts mixed quarter, Taco Bell shines
• Positive Sentiment: Yum raised its quarterly dividend (5.6% increase), a shareholder-friendly move that can support the stock’s income appeal. Taco Bell, KFC Parent Yum! Brands Hikes Dividend Despite Margin Squeeze
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $180 price target, citing Taco Bell momentum and potential re-rating after any Pizza Hut strategic moves. Buy Rating on Yum! Brands Driven by Taco Bell Momentum…
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s proprietary Byte-by-Yum AI platform continues to get traction with operators — a potential margin and efficiency tailwind over time. Yum Brands Battles Rival Restaurants With Proprietary AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst target adjustments are mixed: Citigroup nudged its target to $171 (neutral rating) while Wells Fargo moved its target to $160 (equal weight) — modestly supportive but not unanimous bullishness. Citigroup target raise / coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Yum announced plans to close ~250 underperforming Pizza Hut U.S. locations in H1 2026 and is conducting a formal review of Pizza Hut’s future (including a possible sale) — a sign of sustained brand weakness that pressures near-term U.S. sales and margins. Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 showed a small EPS miss ($1.73 vs. $1.76) and margin pressure despite revenue strength, which tempers upside until margins stabilize. Pizza Hut Is Shutting 250 Restaurants. Here’s Why.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $602,551,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $133,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,945,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 34.3% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,789,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $413,382,000 after buying an additional 713,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 115.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,311,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $197,013,000 after buying an additional 703,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Oppenheimer lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “overweight” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.50.

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.