GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $83,000 in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 380.2% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 922 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $40.04 on Tuesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.55 and a fifty-two week high of $64.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.45.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on YUMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.65.

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.