Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Insider Pingping Liu Sells 1,062 Shares of Stock

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) insider Pingping Liu sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $53,790.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,143,322.45. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Yum China Stock Down 0.2%

YUMC stock opened at $49.87 on Tuesday. Yum China has a fifty-two week low of $39.72 and a fifty-two week high of $58.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $43.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.86.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Yum China had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $3.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.28%.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 3.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,606,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,135,000 after buying an additional 649,629 shares during the period. W1M Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Yum China in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $320,227,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Yum China in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $146,826,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the second quarter worth $96,255,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 19.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,120,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,168,000 after purchasing an additional 339,552 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on YUMC. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Yum China in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Yum China from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.21.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings operates quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC and Pizza Hut, along with local and regional brands such as Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang. The company was separated from Yum! Brands in 2016 and became an independent, publicly traded company.

Its restaurants serve a range of meals and beverages, including fried chicken, burgers, pizza, hot pot and other Chinese-style dishes, as well as coffee. Yum China also offers delivery and digital ordering services through its apps and other platforms.

Yum China’s operations are focused on China, where it serves customers through a broad restaurant network.