KBC Group NV Cuts Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

KBC Group NV reduced its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 59.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 125,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 185,057 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Yum China were worth $6,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum China by 43.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Yum China by 906.5% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Yum China by 56.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $103,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In related news, insider Duoduo (Howard) Huang sold 6,377 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.47, for a total transaction of $302,716.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,948.27. This trade represents a 27.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUMC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.50 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum China has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $49.57.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $47.59 on Friday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $52.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.69.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.09. Yum China had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 7.97%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.32%.

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.