USS Investment Management Ltd Has $34.44 Million Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 714,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167,600 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Yum China were worth $34,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,397,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,841,000 after buying an additional 2,531,518 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Yum China by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,361,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,127,000 after purchasing an additional 448,188 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,901,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Yum China by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,751,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570,419 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Up 0.9%

Yum China stock opened at $44.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.13 and a 200-day moving average of $47.37.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on YUMC shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.70.

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.