Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 657.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,517 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 302,512 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.09% of Yum China worth $16,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Yum China by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company's stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Yum China by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Yum China by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $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, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Yum China Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of YUMC stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $44.61. The stock had a trading volume of 3,054,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,944,984. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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.com, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.70.

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.