Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,785 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in 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. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $51.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.92 and its 200 day moving average is $45.41. 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 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%. Research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid 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 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

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.