Westpac Banking Corp Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,429 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,266,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $20,651,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $2,369,000. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $1,860,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands outlined a renewed consumer-growth strategy centered on strengthening brand engagement, digital capabilities, loyalty programs and operational execution across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The emphasis on personalized customer experiences and technology could support sales and franchisee performance. Yum! Brands Reveals New Path for Consumer Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies to its board, effective August 26. His experience managing global consumer brands and improving operations may add expertise as Yum! pursues growth and evaluates its portfolio. Yum! Brands Appoints Steve Bratspies to Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Pizza Hut is using a football-themed branding promotion ahead of the NFL season. The marketing effort could increase near-term visibility, but it comes as Yum! advances the multibillion-dollar sale of the chain, making the strategic implications more important than the promotion itself. Pizza Hut Branding Change
• Negative Sentiment: Shares faced pressure after Yum! announced a new chief executive officer. Although a leadership change could bring fresh momentum, investors may be concerned about execution risk and the direction of the company during the transition. Yum! Brands Slides on Naming New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: An insider reportedly reduced a Yum! Brands equity stake by 28%, while executive share withholding related to restricted-stock-unit vesting was also disclosed. These transactions are not necessarily signals of deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment. Yum! Brands Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and reputational uncertainty to the stock. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,482.86. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $153.31 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.98.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on YUM. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Argus cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

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.