Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 57,336 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 337,017 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,336 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth $38,873,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 3,182 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 97,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after buying an additional 3,601 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,460,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,478,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth $587,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ HST traded up $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,515,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,965,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $21.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.77.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.