Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter worth about $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the first quarter worth about $44,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $37.10 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.34. The firm has a market cap of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.55 and a 1 year high of $64.50. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on YUMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.