Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,571 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at $2,863,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 399.1% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at $902,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $42.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.26. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The firm has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.07 and its 200 day moving average is $46.73.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.09%. Yum China’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.