Westpac Banking Corp Purchases New Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 20,429 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,266,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $153.31 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.98.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase 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.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $39,972.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares in the company, valued at $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Argus lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.