Ethic Inc. Has $1.01 Million Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,854 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,225 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $4,146,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Yum China by 85.4% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 6,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $46.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.55 and its 200 day moving average is $47.34. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on YUMC shares. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

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.