Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp lessened its holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 429,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,131 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Yum China were worth $20,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Yum China by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 540.0% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 2,160 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter worth approximately $139,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $49.04 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.94. 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 (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

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.