Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society reduced its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,530 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,480 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Yum China were worth $8,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUMC. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China during the fourth quarter valued at about $243,901,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Yum China by 138.5% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock worth $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,179,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth approximately $199,722,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Yum China by 399.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company's stock worth $179,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on YUMC shares. Daiwa America upgraded Yum China to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares in the company, valued at $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $202,360.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 52,075 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.67. 2,771,769 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,930,489. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $47.21.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.25%. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

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.