Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Norges Bank bought a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,146,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,722,000. Norges Bank owned 1.09% of Yum China at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Yum China by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 25,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 338,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,113,000 after purchasing an additional 43,587 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 297,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,341,000 after purchasing an additional 15,400 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Yum China by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 379,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,286,000 after buying an additional 52,466 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $51.89 on Monday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.

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.