Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Yum China were worth $2,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of YUMC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Yum China by 6,304.9% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,526,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,045,000 after acquiring an additional 11,346,069 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 138.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock worth $412,241,000 after buying an additional 4,969,073 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $203,179,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $199,722,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 35.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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 company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Down 1.9%

Yum China stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,534,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,088. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $45.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Yum China 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.