Insider Selling: Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Director Sells 13,963 Shares of Stock

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Director Mary Baglivo sold 13,963 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.47, for a total value of $341,674.61. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,391.96. The trade was a 84.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mary Baglivo also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, November 9th, Mary Baglivo sold 2,466 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.35, for a total value of $62,513.10.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of HST traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.93. 8,242,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,972,312. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.77 and a 12-month high of $26.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.09.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 15.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2.23 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,096,191,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth $296,560,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth $295,807,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,492,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,042,000 after buying an additional 118,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 253.8% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,096,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,812,000 after buying an additional 4,373,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $26.00 price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.55.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotels and resorts. Its properties serve business and leisure travelers and are located primarily in the United States, with additional properties in international markets. The company’s hotels are operated under a range of well-known brands, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and Four Seasons. Host generally relies on brand companies and other third-party operators to manage its properties, while focusing on hotel ownership and real estate investment.