Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $3.42 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,471 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,721 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank grew its position in Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Private Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $162.85 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.13. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $163.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore raised shares of Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.50.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy and keeps a $180 price target, citing Taco Bell momentum and potential re-rating after Pizza Hut actions — a bullish analyst signal for the stock. TD Cowen Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s Byte by Yum AI platform continues to be promoted as a competitive advantage for operators (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Habit), which could lift unit economics and long-term growth. Byte by Yum AI
• Positive Sentiment: Yum reported double-digit profit growth in Q4 and revenue that beat estimates, demonstrating underlying earnings strength despite some brand-level softness. Q4 Profit Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is conducting a formal review of Pizza Hut, including exploring a possible sale; that could unlock value long-term but also introduces execution and timing uncertainty. Pizza Hut Strategic Review
• Negative Sentiment: Yum announced it will close ~250 underperforming U.S. Pizza Hut locations in H1 2026 — a sign of structural weakness in the chain that may pressure near-term U.S. sales and investor sentiment. Pizza Hut Store Closures
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares (about a 45% cut in his direct holdings) on Feb 5; while insider sales can be for many reasons, large exits by executives often raise investor concern. SEC Form 4 – Powell Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed Street estimates ($1.73 vs $1.76) even as revenue beat, highlighting margin or timing pressures that traders may punish near term. Q4 Earnings Call Transcript

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total transaction of $1,937,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $42,274.92. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 39,398 shares of company stock worth $6,027,295 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.