Banque Pictet & Cie SA Has $3.20 Million Position in Yum China $YUMC

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lessened its holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,350 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Yum China by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its holdings in Yum China by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 15,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Yum China by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in Yum China by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 64,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.7% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Xueling Lu sold 23,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.84, for a total transaction of $1,312,463.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $504,905.28. This represents a 72.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jerry Ding sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total value of $165,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,453.10. This represents a 76.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,117 shares of company stock worth $7,479,590. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $58.50 target price on shares of Yum China in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $63.64 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.05.

Yum China Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.15 on Friday. Yum China has a 12 month low of $41.00 and a 12 month high of $58.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.31.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

About Yum China

Yum China Holdings, Inc operates as the largest quick-service restaurant company in China, through its ownership and franchising of brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company’s core business encompasses full-service and fast‐casual dining, takeout and delivery channels, as well as ancillary services including loyalty programs and digital ordering platforms. Yum China’s restaurants offer a diverse menu that adapts global brand concepts to local consumer preferences, featuring items such as soy‐marinated chicken, customized pizzas and region‐inspired side dishes.

In addition to its signature brands, Yum China has expanded its portfolio to include innovative concepts tailored to evolving market trends, such as plant‐based offerings, self‐service kiosks and mobile app integrations.