GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Sells 1,600,751 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd reduced its position in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,298,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600,751 shares during the quarter. Yum China comprises 8.8% of GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd owned about 2.98% of Yum China worth $544,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum China by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609,494 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Yum China in the 3rd quarter worth about $296,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth about $297,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Yum China by 24.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 69,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after buying an additional 13,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum China by 2.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum China

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE YUMC opened at $52.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $28.50 and a one year high of $53.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 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 dividend yield of 1.84%. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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.