Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 2,570,419 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 117.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,751,662 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,570,419 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Yum China were worth $228,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Yum China by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 32.7% during 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. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Price Performance

Yum China stock opened at $51.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.71 and its 200 day moving average is $46.64. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. 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 announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.85%. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Yum China 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.