Banco Santander S.A. Sells 2,910 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Yum China were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Yum China by 350.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,203,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,202,000 after acquiring an additional 3,270,560 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in Yum China during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Yum China by 100.2% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 35,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 17,898 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Yum China by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,510,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,017,000 after purchasing an additional 441,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Yum China by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 56,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 8,101 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum China Stock Performance

NYSE:YUMC opened at $49.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.84. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.50 and a 1-year high of $52.00.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is a boost from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Yum China’s payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum China

In other news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 56,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,728,782.42. This trade represents a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Yum China

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.