J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys Shares of 69,400 Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 69,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,347,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $31,836,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $809,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 31,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 9,155 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE YUMC traded down $0.86 on Friday, hitting $45.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,477,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,967,851. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $48.50 and its 200 day moving average is $47.34.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.