Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH – Get Rating) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,498 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Choice Hotels International worth $12,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.3% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 28.0% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 9.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.95, for a total transaction of $94,210.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,803,564.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.95, for a total transaction of $94,210.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,803,564.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Jews sold 2,214 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $264,484.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,389 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,049.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,642 shares of company stock worth $570,459. 23.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on CHH shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $120.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. TheStreet cut Choice Hotels International from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $134.00 in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.38.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 3.3 %

CHH opened at $117.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.25, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $121.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.12. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.15 and a 12 month high of $133.13.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.04. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 129.67% and a net margin of 21.50%. The company had revenue of $333.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.287 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 3rd. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 19.83%.

About Choice Hotels International

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Choice Hotels International, Inc engages in the franchising and operations of hotels. It operates through Hotel Franchising, and Corporate and Other segments. The Hotel Franchising segment refers to the hotel franchising operations consisting of the company’s several hotel brands. The Corporate and Other segment deals with hotel revenues and rental income related to office buildings owned by the company.