SVB Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

SVB Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 722 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 788.9% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $294,441,000. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 8,088.2% in 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 stake in shares of Yum China by 21.2% in 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 stake in shares of Yum China by 23.3% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Yum China stock opened at $37.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $40.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.42. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $33.55 and a one year high of $64.50.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 7.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 EPS. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on YUMC. HSBC reduced their price objective 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. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.65.

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.