First Trust Advisors LP Takes Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,146,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,720 shares of the company's stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,544 shares of the company's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 6,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.12. 2,510,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,931,991. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $47.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. The company's revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Yum China's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa America raised shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China 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 transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Yum China Company 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.