Marshall Wace LLP Makes New $1.72 Million Investment in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 97,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,717,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 13,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 77,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST opened at $13.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.57. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $19.87.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Compass Point downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.