Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 514.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 154,727 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,557 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $7,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in YUMC. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at $243,901,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after buying an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 399.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,556,000 after buying an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Yum China by 49.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $51.89 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.64. 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 $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 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, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.