Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 774,754 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,735,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 774,754 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Yum China were worth $83,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Yum China by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Yum China by 1,374.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $53.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.69. The firm has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change 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 1.79%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Yum China Company 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.