Invesco Ltd. Cuts Stake in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Invesco Ltd. cut its position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC - Free Report) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,326,874 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,473,296 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.88% of Yum China worth $160,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Yum China during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Yum China by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE YUMC traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,305,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,956,930. 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 company has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.56. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.50 and a 12 month high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Yum China's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was 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 owns 56,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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