United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,211 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,670 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum China during the third quarter worth about $459,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth about $868,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at approximately $944,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Yum China Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $44.78 on Wednesday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.59 and a 200 day moving average of $47.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $16.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32.

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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is 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.