D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,608 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,084 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,608 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 56.9% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Yum China by 540.0% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:YUMC opened at $46.62 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.33. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $52.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.72 and a 200 day moving average of $43.75.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released 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, research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s payout ratio is 27.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on YUMC. StockNews.com upgraded Yum China from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Yum China from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.50 to $60.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum China currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.57.

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.