Carrhae Capital LLP Acquires New Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Carrhae Capital LLP bought a new position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 470,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,173,000. Yum China comprises about 2.4% of Carrhae Capital LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Carrhae Capital LLP owned 0.12% of Yum China at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Yum China by 4.4% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 1.2% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 12.1% during the second quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 3,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Yum China by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC stock opened at $43.83 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.51 and a 200-day moving average of $35.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 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 $53.83. The firm has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 32.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai purchased 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.72 per share, for a total transaction of $127,608.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,608. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat bought 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.98 per share, with a total value of $129,124.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 272,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,274,637.12. 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,608. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on YUMC shares. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie upgraded Yum China from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.40 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.18.

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.