Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,102,077 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,704,756 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.76% of Yum China worth $734,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ativo Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,496,000. American Capital Advisory LLC increased its position in Yum China by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC now owns 21,621 shares of the company's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,869 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Yum China by 255.9% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 45,540 shares of the company's stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 32,745 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Yum China by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 17,276 shares of the company's stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE YUMC traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,115,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,888,229. Yum China has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.