AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 29,058 Shares of Yum China $YUMC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Yum China by 7%, selling 29,058 shares and owning 386,628 shares worth approximately $19.9 million.
• Yum China's quarterly earnings showed a profit of $0.58 per share, surpassing estimates, and a revenue of $2.79 billion, which was slightly below expectations, indicating a year-over-year revenue growth of 4%.
• The company declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.1%, to be paid on September 23rd, reflecting its strong financial standing with a payout ratio of 39.67%.

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,058 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Yum China worth $19,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 29.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,985,966 shares of the company's stock worth $1,248,709,000 after purchasing an additional 5,485,735 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Yum China by 9.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,076,822 shares of the company's stock worth $108,119,000 after acquiring an additional 171,643 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Yum China by 4,967.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 98,914 shares of the company's stock worth $5,149,000 after acquiring an additional 96,962 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Yum China by 35.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,102,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,704,756 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the first quarter worth about $2,863,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:YUMC traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.93. 2,276,574 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,051,790. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.11. Yum China has a 52 week low of $34.14 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.22.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 14.13%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum China will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum China's payout ratio is 39.67%.

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.