Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Shares Acquired by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 13.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,692 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after buying an additional 1,788,563 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,289 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 51.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 90,765 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 917.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,254,000 after purchasing an additional 145,893 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $231,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,340. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $141.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 22.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.18.

About Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.