Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 24,274 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 204.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,118 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,274 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after buying an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,505,053 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at $450,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,450,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $53.28 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.18 and its 200-day moving average is $47.03.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is an increase 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 yield of 1.80%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut 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.