Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Sells 48,218 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lowered its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 78.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,218 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Yum China were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Yum China by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE YUMC opened at $52.59 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.79.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded 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 other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.