Strs Ohio Sells 183,138 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,517,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183,138 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.36% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $49,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the first quarter valued at $215,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 1st quarter worth about $624,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 82.0% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 38,385 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $20.08. 212,835 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,936,022. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.73. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $21.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HST shares. Raymond James increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts 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.