Barings LLC Grows Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Barings LLC boosted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 536,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 128,739 shares during the quarter. Yum China makes up 0.6% of Barings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Barings LLC owned 0.14% of Yum China worth $25,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at $139,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $49.72 on Friday. 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 cap of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.76. 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 posted 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Yum China Company 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.