Norges Bank Takes $199.72 Million Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,146,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,722,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of YUMC. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Yum China by 1.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $51.89 on Monday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.73. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.