Insider Selling: Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Insider Sells 3,900 Shares of 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 shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of YUMC stock opened at $47.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.50.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum China

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 350.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270,560 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the third quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 100.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 17,898 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Yum China by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,510,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,017,000 after acquiring an additional 441,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

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.