Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Purchased by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 34.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,286 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,016 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in YUMC. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,901,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 138.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock worth $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $203,179,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $199,722,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 399.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,556,000 after buying an additional 2,980,589 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.79. 783,306 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,918,101. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $47.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.34.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.