Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 714,718 shares of the company's stock after selling 167,600 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd owned 0.19% of Yum China worth $34,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 3,406,170 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,075,000 after buying an additional 463,211 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Yum China by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Yum China by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,361,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,127,000 after acquiring an additional 448,188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13% 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. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.70.

Yum China Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:YUMC traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.67. 2,771,769 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,930,489. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.50 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $46.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.21. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during 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%. Yum China's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Yum China's payout ratio is 40.17%.

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.