59,093 Shares in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 59,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1,921.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake 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. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HST opened at $18.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.92 and a 1 year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Host Hotels & Resorts news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.