Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,217,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,179,000. Yum China comprises approximately 0.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Yum China by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Yum China by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $51.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Yum China Company 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.