Waverton Investment Management Ltd Sells 68,098 Shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,995,865 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,098 shares during the period. Yum China makes up approximately 3.2% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Waverton Investment Management Ltd owned 1.07% of Yum China worth $208,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 29,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 8,525 shares during the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Yum China by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 532,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,698,000 after buying an additional 95,623 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at $11,776,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Yum China by 30.5% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $44.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.55.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.70.

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.