The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 123,649 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,641,652 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,649 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.43% of Yum China worth $79,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum China by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 36,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 4,817 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $9,571,000. White Oak Capital Partners Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $1,164,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $319,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $46.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.40 and its 200 day moving average is $47.33. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on YUMC. Daiwa America raised Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum China currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.70.

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.