Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Holdings Reduced by Palouse Capital Management Inc.

Palouse Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Yum China by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 547,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,262,000 after acquiring an additional 39,972 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 277,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,380,000 after acquiring an additional 5,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 8,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $52.00. 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 50 day moving average price of $46.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.08.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total value of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.