AQR Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 412,964 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,399 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Yum China worth $12,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the first quarter worth $36,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Yum China by 140.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Macquarie upgraded 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.18.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.24. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $56.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.76 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 7.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,608. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.36 per share, for a total transaction of $133,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief technology officer now owns 41,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,379,069.04. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671. Company 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.