New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $3.83 Million Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 917.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 71,600 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 540.0% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $49.40 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.02.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

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.