Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Bought by Pictet North America Advisors SA

Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 547,630 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 39,972 shares during the quarter. Yum China accounts for approximately 2.5% of Pictet North America Advisors SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Pictet North America Advisors SA owned approximately 0.14% of Yum China worth $26,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 906.5% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners grew its position in shares of Yum China by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $48.21 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.90 and its 200 day moving average is $42.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.47%.

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.