Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) is Pictet North America Advisors SA’s 9th Largest Position

Pictet North America Advisors SA increased its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 547,630 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,972 shares during the period. Yum China accounts for about 2.5% of Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Yum China were worth $26,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Ironwood Financial llc purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at about $331,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at about $256,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Yum China by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,446,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,119,000 after buying an additional 260,493 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. The trade was a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $48.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $46.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.82. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. 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. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.47%.

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.