DnB Asset Management AS Increases Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 343,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,400 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Yum China were worth $16,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Yum China by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 1,374.5% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum China Stock Down 2.4 %

YUMC stock opened at $51.89 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

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.