Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 2,350 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,633 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $2,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUMC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 788.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,628,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $787,029,000 after purchasing an additional 14,757,971 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $294,441,000. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 8,088.2% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,212,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173,249 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,759,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 4,847,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,088,000 after purchasing an additional 916,418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $37.22 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.55 and a 12-month high of $64.50. The stock has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.35 and its 200-day moving average is $42.58.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 7.53%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on YUMC. HSBC cut their target price on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.65.

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.