Westpac Banking Corp Sells 13,243 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its Yum! Brands stake by 32% in the first quarter, selling 13,243 shares and leaving it with 28,142 shares valued at about $4.38 million.
• Yum! Brands faced mixed to negative operating news, including reports that Taco Bell traffic fell sharply and visits dropped 19% after a lettuce-linked parasite scare, though the company said a positive cyclospora test was a false positive.
• The company recently returned cash to shareholders with a $0.75 quarterly dividend and authorized a new $4 billion share buyback plan, while analysts still maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $174.81.

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 13,243 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands announced Nai De Leon will become Chief People & Culture Officer effective November 1, 2026, a move that adds a new senior leader and may support long-term organizational execution. Yum! Brands Appoints Nai De Leon as Chief People & Culture Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands said a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, which could ease some concerns if confirmed and help reduce the risk of further reputational damage. Market Chatter: Yum! Brands Says Positive Cyclospora Test on Taylor Farms Lettuce was False Positive
• Neutral Sentiment: ThaiBev is exploring a sale of its KFC franchise business in Thailand, but the report does not suggest an immediate change to Yum! Brands’ operations or financial outlook. ThaiBev Weighs Sale of Thailand's Largest KFC Franchise With 500+ Restaurants
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg and other reports said Taco Bell traffic fell sharply after lettuce was tied to a parasite outbreak, raising concern that the issue could hurt same-store sales and damage Yum! Brands’ near-term performance. Taco Bell Traffic Sinks After Lettuce Tied to Parasite Outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Taco Bell visits dropped 19% after the lettuce-linked outbreak, reinforcing fears that the health scare is already weighing on restaurant demand. Taco Bell visits drop 19% after lettuce parasite outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Technical commentary warned that Yum! Brands may be nearing a bearish “death cross,” which can add to selling pressure when sentiment is already weak. QUICK SPARK: Yum! Brands May Soon Serve Traders a Death Cross

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.82. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Company 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.

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