Yum China $YUMC Shares Purchased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Yum China by 15.0%, acquiring an additional 90,015 shares, bringing its total ownership to 690,083 shares valued at approximately $35.9 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 85.58% of Yum China's stock, with notable increases in positions from several firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mirae Asset Global Investments.
• Yum China announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 690,083 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 90,015 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Yum China worth $35,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $600,045,000 after purchasing an additional 11,346,069 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 29.7% during the 1st 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $66,524,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 198.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,905,179 shares of the company's stock worth $91,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,530 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:YUMC traded down $1.92 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.56. 1,546,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,131,035. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.39. Yum China has a 12-month low of $32.85 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The firm has a market cap of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.41.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. Yum China had a return on equity of 14.13% and a net margin of 8.04%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Yum China's payout ratio is 39.67%.

About Yum China

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.