Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Stock Position Reduced by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 61.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,579 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,405 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,730,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,638,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Yum China by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Yum China by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 175,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,475,000 after purchasing an additional 61,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Yum China by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum China Stock Performance

YUMC stock opened at $49.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $52.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.76.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.