Yum China $YUMC Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,237,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 152,186 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Yum China were worth $100,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Yum China by 29.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,985,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,248,709,000 after purchasing an additional 5,485,735 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 9.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,076,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,119,000 after buying an additional 171,643 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 32,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 5,723 shares in the last quarter. Soros Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth about $14,681,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new stake in Yum China during the first quarter worth approximately $9,206,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 5,167 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $248,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,896. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on YUMC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. CLSA restated an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Yum China Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $47.58 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $44.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.81. The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.18. Yum China has a 12-month low of $41.00 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

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

Yum China Announces Dividend

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

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.