Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 73.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,350 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Yum China by 1.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after buying an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $51.27 on Wednesday. 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 $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.34.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. 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. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered 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.