Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Alta Capital Management LLC

Alta Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 32.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,397,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,841,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531,518 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 350.7% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 399.0% in the fourth 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. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,576,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 61.4% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,942,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,054 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $49.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.69 and a 200 day moving average of $44.29. 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 cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUMC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

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.