Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Has $9.97 Million Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,044 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 48,106 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.05% of Yum China worth $9,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on YUMC. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $41.33. 6,305,054 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,960,440. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $48.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.49. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China's payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

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.