Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,004 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,196 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $12,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $602,551,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 34.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,789,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $413,382,000 after purchasing an additional 713,167 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 115.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,311,849 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $197,013,000 after buying an additional 703,891 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,306,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $341,841,000 after buying an additional 609,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2,288.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 502,267 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $74,426,000 after buying an additional 481,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $155.59 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.00. The company has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.36%.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Yum! to $179, signaling conviction in upside vs. the current trading range and providing tangible valuation support. Barclays Increases Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $179.00
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett upgraded YUM from hold to buy, adding buying momentum from the sell-side and reinforcing investor confidence. Gordon Haskett upgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, which supports demand from investors who follow benchmark research. Sanford Bernstein reaffirms overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Yum!’s multi-year shareholder returns (about a 9.0% CAGR over five years), which can attract long-term investors and supports valuation stability. Yum! Brands shareholders have earned a 9.0% CAGR over the last five years
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive overall (consensus “Moderate Buy”), but it points to mixed analyst views and moderate upside rather than a unanimous bullish case. Yum! Brands Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Several write-ups describe analyst sentiment as “cautiously optimistic” amid leadership changes — this tempers enthusiasm and suggests the stock could see increased volatility while investors wait for clarity. Cautiously Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on Yum! Brands (YUM) Amid Leadership Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital issued a “hold,” which may cap near-term upside from investors who follow that shop. Yum! Brands Gets a Hold from BMO Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer downgraded Yum!, introducing sell-side downside pressure and signaling that some analysts see execution or leadership risks that could weigh on growth expectations. Oppenheimer downgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total transaction of $189,550.53. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,559.68. The trade was a 95.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total transaction of $3,627,901.20. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 30,695 shares of company stock valued at $4,582,843 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.15.

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.