Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. Sells 809,487 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,404,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 809,487 shares during the quarter. Yum China accounts for approximately 4.7% of Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $67,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Yum China by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 1,374.5% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Yum China Stock Down 0.8 %

YUMC stock opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.22. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99. 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 $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

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 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%. Research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were 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 represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.