FIL Ltd Has $273.65 Million Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

FIL Ltd decreased its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,680,811 shares of the company's stock after selling 682,605 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 1.50% of Yum China worth $273,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,397,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531,518 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 138.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,969,073 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $243,901,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Yum China by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,751,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,890,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Yum China by 95.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,580,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on YUMC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum China has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.35. 5,686,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,919,398. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.25 and its 200 day moving average is $47.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value 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. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the 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 $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Company insiders own 0.30% 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.