Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 68,830 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 226,081 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,830 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.05% of Yum China worth $9,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 96,830 shares of the company's stock worth $5,395,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 7.8% in the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 19,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Yum China by 0.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 888,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,836 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in Yum China during the third quarter worth about $465,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 16,053 shares of the company's stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUMC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.65.

Yum China Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of YUMC stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,637,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,510,889. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.55 and a 12-month high of $64.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.46.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. The company's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 28th. Yum China's payout ratio is 32.16%.

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.