Insider Selling: Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) Insider Sells $278,110.59 in Stock

Key Points

• Yum China insider Warton Wang sold 5,493 shares for about $278,111, reducing his holdings by 8.31% to 60,580 shares. He also sold 3,700 shares in a separate transaction.
• Quarterly earnings were $0.91 per share, above the $0.88 consensus, while revenue of $3.48 billion fell short of estimates; revenue nevertheless rose 8.5% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $59.21 price target.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) insider Warton Wang sold 5,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.63, for a total value of $278,110.59. Following the sale, the insider owned 60,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,067,165.40. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Warton Wang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 6th, Warton Wang sold 3,700 shares of Yum China stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.56, for a total value of $187,072.00.

Yum China Price Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.95 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.49 and a 200-day moving average of $46.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.06. Yum China has a 52 week low of $39.72 and a 52 week high of $58.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Yum China had a return on equity of 16.48% and a net margin of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $3.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Yum China's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum China will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 40.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on YUMC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Yum China from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Yum China from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Yum China in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.21.

Institutional Trading of Yum China

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,606,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,111,135,000 after purchasing an additional 649,629 shares during the period. W1M Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the second quarter valued at about $320,227,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the second quarter valued at about $146,826,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Yum China during the second quarter worth about $96,255,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Yum China by 19.1% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,120,887 shares of the company's stock worth $87,168,000 after buying an additional 339,552 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Yum China

Yum China Holdings operates quick-service and casual-dining restaurants in China. Its portfolio includes KFC and Pizza Hut, along with local and regional brands such as Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang. The company was separated from Yum! Brands in 2016 and became an independent, publicly traded company.

Its restaurants serve a range of meals and beverages, including fried chicken, burgers, pizza, hot pot and other Chinese-style dishes, as well as coffee. Yum China also offers delivery and digital ordering services through its apps and other platforms.

Yum China's operations are focused on China, where it serves customers through a broad restaurant network.

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