LMR Partners LLP Sells 50,349 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

LMR Partners LLP lessened its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 70.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,349 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Yum China by 689.6% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on YUMC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $48.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,657 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Yum China stock opened at $46.13 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.34. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.50 and a twelve month high of $53.99. 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 cap of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Yum China 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.