Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Stake Raised by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 556,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 126,677 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.15% of Yum China worth $26,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Yum China by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $809,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth $31,836,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

Yum China Trading Up 0.5 %

Yum China stock opened at $52.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.86. 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. On average, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

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.