GSA Capital Partners LLP Boosts Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 100.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,760 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,898 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Yum China by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 987,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,302,000 after buying an additional 286,307 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 255,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,523,000 after buying an additional 55,000 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Yum China by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 127,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,081,000 after buying an additional 16,981 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Yum China by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 266,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,585,000 after buying an additional 36,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Yum China by 294.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 513,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,384,000 after buying an additional 383,160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Down 2.7 %

YUMC stock opened at $47.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.94. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.36 per share, for a total transaction of $133,440.00. Following the acquisition, the chief technology officer now owns 41,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,379,069.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum China news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,849.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.36 per share, for a total transaction of $133,440.00. Following the acquisition, the chief technology officer now directly owns 41,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,379,069.04. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 10,700 shares of company stock worth $362,939. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.68.

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.