Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,017 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,336 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $6,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $410,211,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company's stock worth $807,923,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,578 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,154,706 shares of the company's stock worth $956,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,590 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 102.1% in the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,000,909 shares of the company's stock worth $97,168,000 after acquiring an additional 2,526,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,392,721 shares of the company's stock worth $242,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,596 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Host Hotels & Resorts news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ HST traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.71. 3,946,511 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,999,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.92 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $20.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.77.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms.