Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stock Holdings in Yum China $YUMC

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 45.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 703,343 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 218,450 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Yum China were worth $30,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,150,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,303,326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164,701 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Yum China by 14.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,169,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,687,000 after buying an additional 2,604,480 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Yum China by 13.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,871,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,509,000 after buying an additional 677,928 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Yum China by 14.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,734,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,196,000 after acquiring an additional 591,251 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum China in the second quarter worth about $201,814,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:YUMC opened at $55.42 on Friday. Yum China has a 1 year low of $41.00 and a 1 year high of $58.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $49.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $20.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.14.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 14.46% and a net margin of 7.87%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 4th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.25%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 4,613 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.01, for a total value of $262,987.13. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 537,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,631,815.06. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 4,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.10, for a total transaction of $235,112.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,082,731. This represents a 17.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,855 shares of company stock valued at $1,306,804. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Yum China in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $58.50 target price on shares of Yum China in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $63.64 price target on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.05.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc operates as the largest quick-service restaurant company in China, through its ownership and franchising of brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company’s core business encompasses full-service and fast‐casual dining, takeout and delivery channels, as well as ancillary services including loyalty programs and digital ordering platforms. Yum China’s restaurants offer a diverse menu that adapts global brand concepts to local consumer preferences, featuring items such as soy‐marinated chicken, customized pizzas and region‐inspired side dishes.

In addition to its signature brands, Yum China has expanded its portfolio to include innovative concepts tailored to evolving market trends, such as plant‐based offerings, self‐service kiosks and mobile app integrations.