HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in Hyatt Hotels Corporation $H

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) to $15.76 million, owning 128,670 shares after buying an additional 1,777 shares in the first quarter.
• Hyatt Hotels reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.62, with total revenue of $1.81 billion compared to estimates of $1.74 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, set to be paid on September 10th.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,670 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Hyatt Hotels worth $15,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,135,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,132,000 after purchasing an additional 441,417 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 1st quarter valued at $36,229,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter valued at $43,953,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 209.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 255,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,118,000 after purchasing an additional 173,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Hyatt Hotels by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,877,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,987,000 after buying an additional 160,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.54% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider David Udell sold 3,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $521,510.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,245,806.68. This represents a 18.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.70, for a total transaction of $132,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,084.60. This trade represents a 66.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,491 shares of company stock valued at $870,211. Corporate insiders own 23.70% of the company's stock.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:H traded down $0.7680 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.4820. The company's stock had a trading volume of 193,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,727. Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a 1 year low of $102.43 and a 1 year high of $168.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.73 and a 200-day moving average of $133.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 6.54%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Corporation will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 27th. Hyatt Hotels's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

H has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.26.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.