Nuveen Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 108.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,218,486 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 633,800 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Yum China worth $58,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Yum China by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,794,000 after buying an additional 8,101 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,836,000. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in Yum China by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 31,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 8,016 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $809,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 0.9%

YUMC stock opened at $44.14 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YUMC. StockNews.com cut shares of 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.

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