Signaturefd LLC Buys 450 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 32.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $88,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Yum China by 1,374.5% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Yum China stock opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.22. The stock has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. 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. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.