Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 61.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 662,269 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 251,112 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $12,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 186.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,363 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 2,225,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on HST shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ HST traded up $0.29 on Tuesday, hitting $19.29. 6,391,303 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,987,115. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $20.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

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.