ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC Takes $2.18 Million Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 51,456 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,000. Yum China makes up 2.1% of ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HSBC reduced their price objective on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.65.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,641,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,971,875. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.16. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.55 and a twelve month high of $64.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.71 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

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

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.