Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 26.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,266,614 shares of the company's stock after selling 830,274 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 0.60% of Yum China worth $101,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Yum China by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China in the second quarter worth about $1,946,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Yum China during the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Pictet North America Advisors SA grew its holdings in Yum China by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 374,681 shares of the company's stock worth $11,512,000 after acquiring an additional 69,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its position in Yum China by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society now owns 179,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Stock Up 0.5 %

YUMC traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $48.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,303,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,145,668. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Yum China's payout ratio is 28.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.