Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) Stake Lowered by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. decreased its stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,009 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $3,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTN. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Vail Resorts by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,721,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,590,000 after buying an additional 51,630 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,795,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,393,000 after acquiring an additional 131,170 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Vail Resorts by 2,451.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 417,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,931,000 after purchasing an additional 400,941 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 375,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,225,000 after purchasing an additional 111,487 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Vail Resorts by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 253,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,198,000 after purchasing an additional 19,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Vail Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $285.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vail Resorts from $252.00 to $243.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Vail Resorts from $242.00 to $229.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vail Resorts currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $260.11.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 1.1 %

MTN opened at $198.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $215.46 and its 200-day moving average is $219.31. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $188.43 and a one year high of $258.13. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The company reported $5.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.07 by ($0.31). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Vail Resorts’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $2.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Vail Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is 148.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vail Resorts

In other news, Director Peter A. Vaughn sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.77, for a total transaction of $222,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,269.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vail Resorts Profile

Vail Resorts, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities.