Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 864,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.23% of Yum China worth $41,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $296,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Yum China by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Yum China by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 19,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % 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 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $51.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.41. The company has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.