State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 154,110 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 433,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154,110 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.10% of Yum China worth $18,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Yum China by 380.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 922 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 2,848 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,004,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on YUMC shares. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.65.

Yum China Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE YUMC traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,371,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,453,514. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.02. The company has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.55 and a 52 week high of $64.50.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 7.53%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.