IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Stock Position in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 37.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,898 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Yum China were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Yum China by 35.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,102,077 shares of the company's stock worth $734,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,704,756 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Yum China by 6,304.9% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,526,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,045,000 after buying an additional 11,346,069 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Yum China by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,361,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,127,000 after buying an additional 448,188 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,241,000 after buying an additional 4,969,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $243,901,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

Yum China Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE YUMC traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.60. 1,387,652 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,888,712. Yum China has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $44.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 14.08% and a net margin of 8.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

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.