Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. trimmed its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,362 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 380.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 922 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC opened at $40.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.00 and a 200-day moving average of $41.62. 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 52-week low of $33.55 and a 52-week high of $64.50. The company has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on YUMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC dropped their target price on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum China currently 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.