TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 9,700 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $2,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MTN. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Vail Resorts by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,721,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,590,000 after acquiring an additional 51,630 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,795,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,393,000 after buying an additional 131,170 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 2,451.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 417,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,931,000 after buying an additional 400,941 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 42.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 375,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,225,000 after acquiring an additional 111,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Vail Resorts by 8.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 253,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,198,000 after acquiring an additional 19,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Peter A. Vaughn sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.77, for a total transaction of $222,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,691,269.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MTN traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $198.09. 55,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,606. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.38. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.43 and a 52-week high of $258.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.14.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The company reported $5.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by ($0.31). Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Vail Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Vail Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $252.00 to $243.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America cut Vail Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Vail Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $242.00 to $229.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Vail Resorts in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.11.

Vail Resorts Company Profile

Vail Resorts, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities.