Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Sells 15,411 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 174,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,411 shares during the period. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $8,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 32.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 1,374.5% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Yum China Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of YUMC opened at $51.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. 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 $53.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.34.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued 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 return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In related news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.