Northern Trust Corp Acquires 4,158,219 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,752,705 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,158,219 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.97% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $240,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at $807,878,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,555,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,171,000 after acquiring an additional 4,460,468 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 50,002,916 shares of the company's stock worth $876,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932,928 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,610,981 shares of the company's stock worth $98,305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,748,185 shares of the company's stock worth $83,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,158,118 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ HST traded down $0.04 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.75. 8,811,502 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,054,383. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $12.22 and a fifty-two week high of $19.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.47.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HST has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.