Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 9,993 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,563 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,993 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.06% of Yum China worth $11,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Yum China during the third quarter worth about $139,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Yum China by 1,374.5% in 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 period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC opened at $49.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.74 and its 200-day moving average is $45.09. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $52.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 1.95%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Yum China 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.