Aviva PLC Has $16.43 Million Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 341,086 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 72,266 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.09% of Yum China worth $16,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Yum China by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE:YUMC traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,686,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,919,398. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $49.25 and a 200-day moving average of $47.60. The company has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum China presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.70.

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.