Yum China $YUMC Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,548,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,247 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $69,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 37.9% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 4,316 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 195,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,174,000 after acquiring an additional 19,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Yum China by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 75,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $47.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.81. Yum China has a twelve month low of $41.00 and a twelve month high of $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76. The firm had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 14.13%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 39.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 5,167 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $248,016.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,716,896. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. CLSA reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Yum China in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum China has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.00.

About Yum China

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.