Russell Investments Group Ltd. Trims Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 75.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 396,765 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $5,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Yum China in the third quarter worth $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC opened at $38.08 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.55 and a 1 year high of $62.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.92. The firm has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Yum China had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.65.

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.