Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 6,829 Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 5,136 shares during the last quarter. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 0.8% during 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. purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 138.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,522,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $44.49 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $49.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.58. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on YUMC. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.