Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,659,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,947 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $79,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at about $243,901,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,179,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $199,722,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 399.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Yum China Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $52.59 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released 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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. Analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China 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 owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.