Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 70,126 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,030 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in Yum China by 689.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Yum China by 58.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC stock opened at $46.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on YUMC shares. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.70.

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.