Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 422,068 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,285 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned about 0.06% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $8,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HST. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 191,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,710,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,297,000 after buying an additional 120,555 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 22,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 99,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 16,430 shares during the period. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 50,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 8,708 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:HST opened at $18.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 6.66, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.08. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HST. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.