Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $45.52, but opened at $48.99. Yum China shares last traded at $48.65, with a volume of 182,736 shares.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on YUMC. StockNews.com raised Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Yum China by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 1.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.