MML Investors Services LLC Has $2.96 Million Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 24.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,817 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,024 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $2,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hodges Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth $533,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 61.4% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,942,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,054 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth $452,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $49.56 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.57. The company has a market capitalization of $18.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its 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 net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.32%.

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.