Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 321,157 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,043,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 321,157 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.96% of Yum China worth $719,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 8.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 975,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,523,000 after acquiring an additional 76,406 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Yum China by 10.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 60,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum China by 28.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 4,176.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE YUMC opened at $51.89 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.71 and its 200 day moving average is $46.73. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

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.