Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,154 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 237.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 559,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,203,000 after purchasing an additional 393,881 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,655,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Yum China by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,766,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,825,000 after acquiring an additional 433,411 shares during the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 1,325.8% during the 3rd quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 107,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,998,000 after acquiring an additional 100,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 369,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,657,000 after purchasing an additional 54,958 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $36.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.35 and a 200 day moving average of $42.58. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The business’s revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Yum China 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.