Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $45.52, but opened at $48.99. Yum China shares last traded at $48.65, with a volume of 182,736 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 27.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 350.7% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 399.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $68,638,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% 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.