Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,358 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $10,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after buying an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares in the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $450,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Yum China during the third quarter worth approximately $13,450,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,177,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Stock Up 0.6 %

YUMC stock opened at $53.28 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS 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 analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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.