B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 141,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,349,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUMC. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in Yum China by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 84,321 shares of the company's stock worth $3,796,000 after buying an additional 23,625 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $297,000. LMR Partners LLP lifted its position in Yum China by 238.7% during the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 71,474 shares of the company's stock worth $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 50,374 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Yum China by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,510,386 shares of the company's stock worth $113,017,000 after acquiring an additional 441,252 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $331,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Trading Down 0.1 %

YUMC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $47.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,240,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,217,366. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The stock has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.36. The business's 50-day moving average is $44.15 and its 200-day moving average is $37.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on YUMC. Citigroup raised Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie upgraded Yum China from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average 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.