KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 310,533 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64,983 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.08% of Yum China worth $13,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE YUMC opened at $47.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00. The company has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Macquarie upgraded shares of Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.68.

Yum China Profile

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.