Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,217,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,179,000. Yum China makes up approximately 0.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.11% of Yum China as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $51.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.71 and a 200-day moving average of $46.64. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum China 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.