Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 174,531 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P decreased its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,232,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174,531 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Yum China were worth $252,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Yum China by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Yum China by 1,374.5% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Up 2.0 %

YUMC opened at $52.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $48.37 and its 200-day moving average is $46.38. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

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.