Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 4,077 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 971,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,077 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Yum China worth $46,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Yum China by 1,374.5% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $51.53 on Friday. 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 cap of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.24. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00.

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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase 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 1.86%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China 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.