Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $32.53 Million in Yum China $YUMC

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 798,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,533,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,957,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,945,000 after buying an additional 1,787,450 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Yum China by 42.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 752,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,701,000 after acquiring an additional 224,060 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 112.0% during the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 7,854,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,959,000 after acquiring an additional 4,148,966 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 627,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,607,000 after acquiring an additional 86,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,453,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on YUMC. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum China from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Yum China in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 14,586 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.72, for a total value of $696,043.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 63,541 shares in the company, valued at $3,032,176.52. The trade was a 18.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 24,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.08, for a total value of $1,134,439.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,290.12. The trade was a 76.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE YUMC opened at $48.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.84. Yum China has a 52-week low of $40.15 and a 52-week high of $58.39.

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

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 27th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 42.49%.

About Yum China

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.