Legal & General Group Plc Purchases 34,434 Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corporation $H

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Hyatt Hotels stake by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 34,434 additional shares and lifting its holding to 457,680 shares valued at about $73.4 million.
• Hyatt reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.63 versus a $0.57 estimate and revenue of $1.75 billion, slightly above forecasts.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $188.00.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 457,680 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,434 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.48% of Hyatt Hotels worth $73,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 248,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,083,000 after acquiring an additional 32,048 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,715,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,221,000 after acquiring an additional 843,121 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,067,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,911,000 after acquiring an additional 22,071 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 80,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,387 shares during the period. 73.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hyatt Hotels Trading Down 2.3%

H stock opened at $181.17 on Friday. Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a 1-year low of $127.54 and a 1-year high of $188.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -517.62 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.94.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.06. Hyatt Hotels had a positive return on equity of 6.01% and a negative net margin of 0.48%.The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels Corporation will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Hyatt Hotels's dividend payout ratio is presently -171.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $186.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Kinsey Wolf sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.28, for a total value of $58,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 545 shares in the company, valued at $80,267.60. This represents a 42.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jnp 2010-Pg Trust sold 213,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.75, for a total value of $35,803,553.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 213,434 shares in the company, valued at $35,803,553.50. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 225,154 shares of company stock worth $37,804,562 over the last ninety days. 23.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hyatt Hotels Profile

Hyatt Hotels Corporation NYSE: H is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts and vacation properties. Its portfolio spans a range of price points and styles under brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Thompson Hotels, Alila and Destination by Hyatt. In addition to accommodations, the company provides meeting and event spaces, food and beverage outlets, spa and wellness centers, and a variety of guest services designed to cater to both leisure and business travelers.

Hyatt's business model combines property ownership, management contracts and third-party franchising.

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