Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC Sells 229 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Yum China accounts for about 1.7% of Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Templeton & Phillips Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum China were worth $2,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at about $297,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 24.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 69,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 13,504 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 2.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the third quarter valued at about $228,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other Yum China news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $52.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, 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 $53.99. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.86 and its 200 day moving average is $46.09.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 EPS 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 research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio 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.