North Star Investment Management Corp. Trims Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 41.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,728 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Yum China during the first quarter worth about $37,000. Graney & King LLC acquired a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum China by 58.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:YUMC opened at $43.55 on Monday. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.