Jeff Kuai Sells 3,900 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Stock

Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) 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 transaction of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Yum China Stock Down 4.2 %

YUMC opened at $47.24 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $52.00.

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 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 27.47%.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUMC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.57.

Yum China Company 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.