Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $4.53 Million Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 93,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,533,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE YUMC traded up $1.29 on Monday, reaching $45.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,601,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,914,696. 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 moving average is $49.25 and its 200-day moving average is $47.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on YUMC. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

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.