Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 207.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 261,708 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,672 shares during the period. Yum China comprises approximately 1.7% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd owned approximately 0.06% of Yum China worth $11,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the third quarter valued at $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Yum China in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of YUMC traded up $1.13 on Tuesday, hitting $38.36. 2,712,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,460,167. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.04. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.55 and a 1 year high of $64.50.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Yum China’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUMC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC dropped their price objective 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. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.65.

Yum China Company 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.