Altman Advisors Inc. Purchases New Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Altman Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 36,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Yum China by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,136 shares during the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its position in Yum China by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC now owns 467,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,042,000 after acquiring an additional 3,729 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Yum China by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:YUMC opened at $44.35 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. 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%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on YUMC shares. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America raised shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.