Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 338,778 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,587 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Yum China worth $15,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at about $2,177,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $809,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,836,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC traded down $0.70 on Thursday, hitting $52.59. 4,415,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,814,984. 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 $49.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.03. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32.

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Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.