Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 441,417 Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H - Free Report) by 16.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,135,774 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 441,417 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.26% of Hyatt Hotels worth $384,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 499 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter worth $88,000. Allstate Corp bought a new position in Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 120.3% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,518 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. 73.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hyatt Hotels

In other Hyatt Hotels news, major shareholder Hotels Corp Hyatt acquired 996,587 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.50 per share, for a total transaction of $13,453,924.50. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 117,077,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,580,545,453.50. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jnp Parachute Mirror Trust L sold 53,361 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.75, for a total value of $7,083,672.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 371,111 shares of company stock worth $49,273,516 over the last quarter. 23.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

NYSE H traded up $1.97 during trading on Thursday, hitting $147.36. 635,156 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 754,285. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a 12-month low of $102.43 and a 12-month high of $168.20.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 11.94%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels Corporation will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Hyatt Hotels's payout ratio is currently 7.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Hyatt Hotels from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $156.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Melius Research raised Hyatt Hotels to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $161.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.63.

About Hyatt Hotels

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.