Raymond James & Associates Has $2.62 Million Stock Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Raymond James & Associates cut its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 134,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,329 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 18.7% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 3,182 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.8% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 97,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 3,601 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,460,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,478,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 129.4% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 106,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 59,919 shares during the period. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 70.4% during the third quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 371,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,970,000 after buying an additional 153,550 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST opened at $19.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.34 and a 200-day moving average of $18.75. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.92 and a 52-week high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.20.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.