Signaturefd LLC Boosts Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Yum China by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 69,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 13,504 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 975,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,523,000 after purchasing an additional 76,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:YUMC opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.22. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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, equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.