E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $10.73 Million Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 222,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,730,000. Yum China makes up approximately 0.5% of E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Yum China as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 350.7% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 399.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,638,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $50.41 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 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.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

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.