Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 326,236 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 14,541 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $49,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 219.4% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 24,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.10, for a total value of $3,627,901.20. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,398 shares of company stock worth $4,090,015. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $159.22 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.91. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.55 and a 1 year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 17.95% and a negative return on equity of 21.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a boost 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%. 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.