Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Cantillon Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,811,796 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 244,087 shares during the period. Yum! Brands accounts for 1.9% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $281,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands reiterated its upcoming second-quarter earnings schedule, keeping attention on potential bottom-line improvement when results are released later this month. Yum! Brands Announces Q2 2026 Earnings and Conference Call Details
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts expect the Taco Bell lettuce scare to have a limited long-term impact, suggesting the stock could stabilize once the contamination issue is contained. The cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to Taco Bell is hitting some restaurant stocks, but don’t expect a long-term impact
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also focused on what Yum! Brands’ next quarterly report may show, with commentary pointing to expected earnings growth for the quarter. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Authorities linked Taco Bell’s shredded iceberg lettuce supplier to the cyclosporiasis outbreak, which could hurt Taco Bell sales, trigger cleanup costs, and create reputational risk for Yum! Brands. Sweetgreen Pares 26% Drop as Parasite Tied to Taco Bell Lettuce
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell has already removed the affected shredded lettuce in some states after government warnings, reinforcing concern that the outbreak may disrupt operations and consumer traffic in the near term. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $147.71 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.88. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.