M&T Bank Corp Purchases 125,420 Shares of Yum China $YUMC

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Yum China by 271.1%, buying 125,420 shares to own 171,689 shares worth about $8.20 million at the end of the quarter.
• Yum China beat Q results with EPS of $0.40 (vs. $0.35 est.) and revenue of $2.82 billion (up 8.8% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.29 (annualized $1.16, ~2.4% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently: CEO Joey Wat sold 104,000 shares and insiders sold 135,117 shares worth $7.48 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with about 0.40% ownership.

M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 271.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 171,689 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 125,420 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Yum China were worth $8,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $159,431,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,169,661 shares of the company's stock worth $883,687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604,480 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 4,654,717 shares of the company's stock worth $199,780,000 after acquiring an additional 932,859 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,871,382 shares of the company's stock worth $262,509,000 after acquiring an additional 677,928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,220,546 shares of the company's stock worth $96,655,000 after acquiring an additional 672,090 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:YUMC opened at $48.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.17. Yum China has a 52 week low of $41.69 and a 52 week high of $58.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.93.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 14.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum China will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUMC shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $63.64 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Yum China from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $58.50 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Yum China in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 104,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.18, for a total value of $5,738,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 433,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,909,825.08. This trade represents a 19.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Xueling Lu sold 23,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.84, for a total transaction of $1,312,463.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $504,905.28. This trade represents a 72.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,117 shares of company stock worth $7,479,590. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

About Yum China

Yum China Holdings, Inc operates as the largest quick-service restaurant company in China, through its ownership and franchising of brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company's core business encompasses full-service and fast‐casual dining, takeout and delivery channels, as well as ancillary services including loyalty programs and digital ordering platforms. Yum China's restaurants offer a diverse menu that adapts global brand concepts to local consumer preferences, featuring items such as soy‐marinated chicken, customized pizzas and region‐inspired side dishes.

In addition to its signature brands, Yum China has expanded its portfolio to include innovative concepts tailored to evolving market trends, such as plant‐based offerings, self‐service kiosks and mobile app integrations.

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