Bamco Inc. NY Has $17.68 Million Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Bamco Inc. NY lowered its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 17.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 392,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,713 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Yum China were worth $17,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in Yum China by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 255,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,523,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Yum China by 15.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 127,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,081,000 after buying an additional 16,981 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Yum China by 350.7% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Yum China by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 17,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,069,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $46.61 on Tuesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.28 and a 200-day moving average of $37.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 28.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on YUMC. Macquarie upgraded shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.