Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires Shares of 270,000 Yum China (NYSE:YUMC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 270,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,056,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.07% of Yum China at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUMC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Yum China by 6,304.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 11,346,069 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 138.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $203,179,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $199,722,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,102,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,150,000 after buying an additional 3,704,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE YUMC traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,660,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,853,642. Yum China has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The company has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $44.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.27.

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

Yum China Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

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.