Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Makes New Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 480,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,164,000. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Yum China as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Yum China by 689.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on YUMC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Up 4.4%

Shares of YUMC stock traded up $1.95 on Monday, hitting $46.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,510,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,931,991. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $47.55 and its 200-day moving average is $47.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Yum China's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum China 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.