World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $868,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUMC. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Yum China by 350.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company's stock worth $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Yum China by 100.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 17,898 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Yum China by 171.7% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,069,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,574 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth $2,177,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on YUMC shares. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.68.

Insider Activity

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

Yum China Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Yum China stock traded down $0.76 on Monday, reaching $48.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,473,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,155,965. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $46.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.60. 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 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS 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 company 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 earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 28.32%.

Yum China Company 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.