OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Takes $1.39 Million Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 28,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,392,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Yum China by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company's stock worth $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 8,101 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,836,000. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 31,286 shares of the company's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 8,016 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $809,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Daiwa America raised shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.70.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.40. 697,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,935,763. The business's fifty day moving average is $47.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.37. 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 market cap of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The firm's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

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.