Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,896 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 56.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $47.24 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.47. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUMC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Company 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.