The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in Yum China $YUMC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 140,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,729,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Yum China by 13.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Yum China by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Yum China in the 2nd quarter worth about $14,659,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Yum China by 13.1% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,871,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 677,928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on YUMC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Yum China in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total transaction of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,290.12. This represents a 76.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total transaction of $696,043.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 63,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,032,176.52. This represents a 18.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $44.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.47. Yum China has a 12 month low of $40.15 and a 12 month high of $58.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.03. Yum China had a return on equity of 15.82% and a net margin of 7.84%.The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Yum China will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 42.49%.

Yum China Company Profile

Yum China Holdings, Inc operates as the largest quick-service restaurant company in China, through its ownership and franchising of brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. The company’s core business encompasses full-service and fast?casual dining, takeout and delivery channels, as well as ancillary services including loyalty programs and digital ordering platforms. Yum China’s restaurants offer a diverse menu that adapts global brand concepts to local consumer preferences, featuring items such as soy?marinated chicken, customized pizzas and region?inspired side dishes.

In addition to its signature brands, Yum China has expanded its portfolio to include innovative concepts tailored to evolving market trends, such as plant?based offerings, self?service kiosks and mobile app integrations.