Yum China $YUMC Stock: Ninety One SA Pty Ltd Lowers Holdings

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,543 shares during the period. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd’s holdings in Yum China were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,606,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,135,000 after buying an additional 649,629 shares during the last quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Yum China in the second quarter valued at about $320,227,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Yum China during the second quarter worth about $146,826,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Yum China during the second quarter worth about $96,255,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 132.4% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,759,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,827,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.71. 1,402,398 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,594,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Yum China has a twelve month low of $39.72 and a twelve month high of $58.39. The company has a market cap of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.86.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. Yum China had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 7.84%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 42.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total value of $696,043.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 63,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,032,176.52. This represents a 18.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,290.12. This trade represents a 76.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.21.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc is a restaurant company that operates and franchises quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavasa, Huang Ji Huang, COFFii&JOY and East Dawning, offering products such as fried chicken, pizza, Mexican-inspired food, coffee and traditional Chinese cuisine.

KFC China and Pizza Hut China are the company’s principal brands, serving customers through restaurants, delivery and digital ordering channels.