Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 873,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,523 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $42,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Yum China by 1.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its position in Yum China by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 57,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Yum China by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum China by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC opened at $47.99 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.53. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.33. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.