Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $356.21 Million Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,609,494 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.02% of Yum China worth $356,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth $36,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the third 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. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 906.5% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on YUMC shares. Citigroup upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Macquarie upgraded 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $51.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,608. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeff Kuai bought 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.72 per share, with a total value of $127,608.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 3,900 shares in the company, valued at $127,608. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Blaine Aiken, Jr. bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.74 per share, for a total transaction of $101,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 12,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $407,849.12. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 18,400 shares of company stock worth $619,671. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $51.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.65.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

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.