Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) Shares Sold by Value Partners Investments Inc.

Value Partners Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,125 shares during the period. Yum China accounts for 0.3% of Value Partners Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Yum China were worth $3,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum China by 0.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,034,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,586,963,000 after purchasing an additional 106,182 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 788.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,628,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $787,029,000 after acquiring an additional 14,757,971 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Yum China by 2.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 12,374,902 shares of the company's stock worth $689,530,000 after acquiring an additional 295,494 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,838,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,770,000 after purchasing an additional 282,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,819,136 shares of the company's stock worth $435,682,000 after purchasing an additional 337,033 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE YUMC traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.61. 2,091,701 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,597,232. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $40.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.23. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.55 and a 12-month high of $64.70. The firm has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Yum China had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 7.53%. Yum China's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Yum China's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on YUMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Yum China in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Yum China in a report on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on Yum China from $66.80 to $51.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.65.

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.