Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,971 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,131 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp owned about 0.11% of Yum China worth $20,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum China by 4,403.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $963,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at about $374,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on YUMC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE YUMC opened at $49.04 on Thursday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $52.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. Equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.20%.

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.