Swiss National Bank Sells 61,700 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,225,279 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.32% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $43,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HST. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,363 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of HST traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.72. 4,814,696 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,026,507. The company has a market capitalization of $13.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 6.66 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.05. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Host Hotels & Resorts's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.43%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other 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 owns 2,225,577 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. 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 report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America raised Host Hotels & Resorts from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.29.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company 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.