Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 13,088 Shares of Yum China $YUMC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its stake in Yum China by 12.6% during the second quarter, holding a total of 116,828 shares valued at approximately $5.19 million.
• Institutional investors now own 85.58% of Yum China's stock, indicating strong investor confidence in the company.
• Yum China recently reported earnings of $0.58 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding 2.2% annually.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 12.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,828 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,088 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Yum China were worth $5,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Yum China by 399.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 3.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $253,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $60.00.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $43.24 on Friday. Yum China has a 1 year low of $41.00 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $44.04 and its 200-day moving average is $44.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. Yum China had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 14.13%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Yum China's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.67%.

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.

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