Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 4,458 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 945,128 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,458 shares during the quarter. Choice Hotels International accounts for 0.9% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 2.02% of Choice Hotels International worth $125,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CHH. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 66.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 256 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 370 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 836.2% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 440 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, Director Ervin R. Shames sold 2,000 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.56, for a total transaction of $259,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 52,212 shares in the company, valued at $6,764,586.72. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 23.78% of the company's stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Shares of Choice Hotels International stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.76. The company had a trading volume of 659,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,064. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $126.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.97. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.13 and a 1-year high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $332.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.52 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 377.51% and a net margin of 19.75%. The company's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $141.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $124.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $140.00 price target on Choice Hotels International and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.15.

About Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.