J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Makes New Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 69,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,347,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented 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 upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Yum China Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $41.75 on Tuesday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.39.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Activity

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

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.