Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,458 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 749 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Yum China were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Yum China by 906.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Yum China by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter valued at about $110,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $47.43 on Wednesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.