Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $39.50 Million Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 32.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 820,265 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 202,105 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.22% of Yum China worth $39,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $243,901,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,179,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $199,722,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Down 5.1 %

Yum China stock opened at $45.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its 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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.