Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,407,008 shares of the company's stock after selling 319,439 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.42% of Yum China worth $243,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 14.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the 1st quarter worth approximately $312,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum China in the first quarter worth approximately $381,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Yum China by 35.9% during the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 31,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 8,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of YUMC stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.58. 3,827,881 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,209,919. The firm has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $44.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.49. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00.

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 (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 business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on YUMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com raised Yum China from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Yum China from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $51.68.

About Yum China

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.