Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 69.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,144 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $86,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Yum China by 24.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Yum China by 2.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 975,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,523,000 after purchasing an additional 76,406 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum China Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.22.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Insider Transactions at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.