Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 72,149 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,149 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $8,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of YUMC. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Yum China by 4,176.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after buying an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 61.4% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,942,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hhlr Advisors LTD. bought a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter worth $29,977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on YUMC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

YUMC opened at $48.38 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.80 and a 200 day moving average of $42.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly 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 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. On average, research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 28.32%.

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.