Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,072 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $6,100,000 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. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 8,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 21,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 15,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 116.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock opened at $36.85 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.35 and its 200 day moving average is $42.58. The firm has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.45.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.