Westpac Banking Corp Sells 4,011 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp has reduced its holdings in Yum! Brands by 8.4%, now owning 43,824 shares worth approximately $6.9 million.
• Yum! Brands reported earnings of $1.44 per share in its last quarter, missing analyst estimates by $0.02.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, providing a 2.0% yield, with a payout ratio of 56.02%.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,011 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $6,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 3.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 65,017 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,231,000 after buying an additional 2,102 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at about $4,822,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Yum! Brands by 9.6% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,967,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Yum! Brands by 6.1% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,619 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 0.9% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 24,877 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,915,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value of $1,043,352.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $245,559.60. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $1,159,603 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM traded up $2.11 on Thursday, reaching $146.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,832,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,749. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.16. The company has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on YUM. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.