Banco Santander S.A. Sells 2,910 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270,560 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth $2,177,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in Yum China by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $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, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Yum China by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 8,101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’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 value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $49.72 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.84. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. 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 (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%. On average, analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.