Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Stake Cut by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 864,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Yum China were worth $41,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum China by 58.5% in 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 last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at $110,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Yum China by 1,374.5% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total value of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $51.53 on Monday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost 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 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 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.