Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. $HST Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,161,448 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 223,405 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $48,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HST. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 12.9% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 784 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:HST opened at $26.13 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.02. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.02 and a 1 year high of $26.17. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 2.96.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.30. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, EVP Nathan Tyrrell sold 63,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.13, for a total value of $1,477,590.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 618,207 shares in the company, valued at $14,299,127.91. This represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore set a $26.00 price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.14.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The company’s properties are generally located in high-demand business and leisure destinations and include full-service hotels, resorts and convention-oriented lodging facilities.

Host Hotels typically invests in hotel real estate while relying on hotel management companies and major hospitality brands to operate its properties.