Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 28.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,745 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Yum China by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,967,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,073,000 after buying an additional 121,617 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in Yum China by 56.3% in the second quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 4,394,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,859 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Yum China by 350.7% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 0.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,552,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,939,000 after purchasing an additional 11,535 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock opened at $46.55 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.78. The firm has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUMC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie upgraded Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum China has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.