Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Acquires 3,729 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 467,701 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,729 shares during the period. Yum China comprises about 2.1% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC owned 0.12% of Yum China worth $21,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Up 4.6 %

YUMC stock opened at $46.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is 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.