Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,464 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Yum China worth $13,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Yum China in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 58.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum China during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Yum China by 1,374.5% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Yum China in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUMC opened at $53.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.75. 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 released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts expect that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is 41.20%.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

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.