Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 14,541 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 326,236 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 14,541 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Yum! Brands worth $49,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $602,551,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 34.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Amundi lifted 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 worth $197,013,000 after buying an additional 703,891 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 35.9% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,306,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $341,841,000 after acquiring an additional 609,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 31,860.2% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,400,000 after acquiring an additional 448,592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $42,274.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total value of $419,839.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 26,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,292. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,398 shares of company stock worth $4,090,015 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell led the quarter with robust same‑store sales and system growth, helping Yum deliver revenue above expectations and underpinning confidence in the portfolio’s growth engine. KFC-parent Yum Brands tops same-store sales estimates as diners seek value meals
• Positive Sentiment: Yum raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (a ~5.6% increase), signaling management confidence and making the stock more attractive to income investors. Taco Bell, KFC Parent Yum! Brands Hikes Dividend Despite Margin Squeeze
• Neutral Sentiment: Top line beat: Q4 revenue of $2.51B topped estimates (revenue +6.4% YoY), showing demand and unit growth offsetting other headwinds — a mixed but important signal for continued sales momentum. Earnings Breakdown: Yum Brands Q4
• Negative Sentiment: EPS slightly missed expectations (non‑GAAP $1.73 vs. ~$1.76 consensus) and company commentary cited margin pressure at restaurants — a near-term profit/headline risk that trimmed investor enthusiasm. Yum Brands (YUM) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut continues to underperform: Yum plans to close ~250 U.S. Pizza Hut locations and is conducting a strategic review (including potential sale). That raises execution and turnaround risk for the pizza brand. Pizza Hut Will Shutter 250 U.S. Locations As Yum Weighs The Brand’s Future
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling was reported (~US$6.3M), which some investors view as a cautionary sign amid the mixed results and Pizza Hut uncertainties. Insiders At Yum! Brands Sold US$6.3m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $167.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.05.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $159.22 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $152.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.91. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.55 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

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.