DnB Asset Management AS Buys 136,400 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 66.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343,130 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,400 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.09% of Yum China worth $16,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 1,374.5% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $51.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.