Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,735,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 774,754 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.46% of Yum China worth $83,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUMC. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,177,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yum China by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,794,000 after buying an additional 8,101 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $322,000. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum China in the 4th quarter worth about $809,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Yum China by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 975,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,523,000 after purchasing an additional 76,406 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at $2,728,782.42. This represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Leila Zhang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $202,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 52,075 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,474.25. This trade represents a 7.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock worth $2,242,176. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Yum China Stock Performance

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $53.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.27 and its 200 day moving average is $45.69. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.50 and a 1 year high of $53.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.