Bank of America Corp DE Takes $96.25 Million Position in Yum China $YUMC

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 2.36 million Yum China shares worth approximately $96.3 million, representing about 0.69% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 85.58% of Yum China.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with three Buy ratings and one Hold rating producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $59.21.
• Yum China exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.70 EPS and $3.14 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, or $1.16 annually.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,355,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,255,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.69% of Yum China at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Yum China by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 752,360 shares of the company's stock worth $36,701,000 after acquiring an additional 224,060 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 7,854,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $374,959,000 after purchasing an additional 4,148,966 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the first quarter valued at about $8,453,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 3.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,606,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,111,135,000 after purchasing an additional 649,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Yum China during the second quarter worth about $2,831,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on YUMC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Yum China from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $696,043.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,032,176.52. This trade represents a 18.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,290.12. The trade was a 76.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Yum China Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of YUMC opened at $41.09 on Friday. Yum China has a 1-year low of $40.15 and a 1-year high of $58.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.08. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $45.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.32.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.03. Yum China had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 15.82%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 27th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.49%.

Yum China Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc NYSE: YUMC is a restaurant company that operates and franchises brands across mainland China. It is the exclusive operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in China and also operates Taco Bell restaurants in the market.

The company's broader portfolio includes Chinese restaurant concepts such as Huang Ji Huang and Little Sheep, as well as coffee and beverage brands including Lavasa and COFFii & JOY. Its restaurants offer a range of quick-service meals, casual dining options, beverages and related food products through dine-in, takeaway, delivery and digital ordering channels.

Yum China became an independent, publicly traded company in 2016 following its separation from Yum! Brands.

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