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

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $159,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Yum China Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $51.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.64. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.99. 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 data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. 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%.

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.