Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 183,389 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 28.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 466,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183,389 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $8,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HST. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter valued at about $182,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 353,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.39.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $18.20 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.71 and a 1-year high of $21.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.67%.

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.