Savant Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Savant Capital LLC decreased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,844 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,372 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $807,923,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,578 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $57,664,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,873,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,456,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 36.1% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 5,971,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $18.65 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 6.66 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.92 and a 12 month high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Insider Activity at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other Host Hotels & Resorts news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.29.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms.