Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $202,000 Investment in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of YUMC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Yum China by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 906.5% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $48.30 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.82.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. On average, analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Company 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.