Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Position Raised by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,363 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 73,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,541,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Yum China by 305.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 280,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,492,000 after buying an additional 211,090 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at about $231,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth about $31,836,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of YUMC opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.22. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Yum China

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.