Appleton Partners Inc. MA Trims Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 3.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Yum China were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum China by 53.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 140.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai purchased 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai purchased 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang acquired 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.36 per share, for a total transaction of $133,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief technology officer now directly owns 41,339 shares in the company, valued at $1,379,069.04. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 18,400 shares of company stock valued at $619,671 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC stock opened at $49.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average of $35.49. The company has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.35. 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 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $56.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.61% and a return on equity of 12.41%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 32.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on YUMC shares. Citigroup raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Macquarie raised Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.18.

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.