Highland Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 140.0% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 250,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,187,000 after acquiring an additional 146,410 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 21,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 12,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 1st quarter valued at $418,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Yum China by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 407,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,934,000 after purchasing an additional 20,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $38.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.46. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.55 and a 1-year high of $64.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUMC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Yum China in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.