Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 95,700 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 52.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 87,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95,700 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HST has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $16.03 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.04 and a 200-day moving average of $17.48. The company has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.71 and a 52-week high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. On average, equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.81%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.