Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 90.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,984 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,413 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 53.7% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Warton Wang bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.67 per share, with a total value of $128,279.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,547.41. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.74 per share, with a total value of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $407,849.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Warton Wang bought 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $34.67 per share, with a total value of $128,279.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,023 shares in the company, valued at $867,547.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 14,500 shares of company stock valued at $492,063. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $49.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.89. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $52.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.97% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Yum China’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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