Vail Resorts, Inc. $MTN Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp sharply reduced its Vail Resorts stake by 97% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,986 shares and leaving it with just 338 shares worth about $45,000.
• Insiders were buying: CEO Robert A. Katz purchased 37,500 shares for about $4.94 million, while CFO Angela A. Korch also bought shares, signaling confidence from management.
• Vail Resorts reported weaker-than-expected results for the March quarter, missing both earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $161.82 price target.

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Free Report) by 97.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,986 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MTN. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 17,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,625,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 482 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 94.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vail Resorts

In other news, CEO Robert A. Katz bought 37,500 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $131.81 per share, with a total value of $4,942,875.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 285,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,606,974.72. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Angela A. Korch bought 190 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $131.85 per share, with a total value of $25,051.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,539 shares in the company, valued at $730,317.15. This trade represents a 3.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Vail Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Vail Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vail Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $159.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $159.00 to $151.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.82.

Vail Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MTN opened at $125.61 on Monday. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.51 and a 1-year high of $175.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business's fifty day moving average price is $131.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.70.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 9th. The company reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.06 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 7.89%.Vail Resorts's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Vail Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 26th. Vail Resorts's payout ratio is presently 144.86%.

Vail Resorts Profile

Vail Resorts, Inc is a leading mountain resort company that owns and operates an integrated network of ski areas, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets. The company's signature Epic Pass program offers skiers and snowboarders season‐long access to its portfolio of resorts, while ancillary services such as ski and snowboard schools, equipment rental and retail drive additional revenue.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Vail Resorts was formed in 1997, building on the legacy of Vail Associates, which opened the Vail ski area in 1962.

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