Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,036,294 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,918 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.54% of Yum China worth $98,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum China by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,397,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $500,841,000 after buying an additional 2,531,518 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Yum China by 138.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,558,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969,073 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth $243,901,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Yum China by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,751,662 shares of the company's stock worth $228,890,000 after buying an additional 2,570,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Yum China by 95.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,580,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $220,644,000 after buying an additional 2,238,720 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE YUMC traded up $1.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.75. 1,998,092 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,008,394. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.50 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $48.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.34.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 13.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Yum China's payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total transaction of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,474.25. The trade was a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Yum China 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.