Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 7,900 Shares of Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 465,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.45% of Hyatt Hotels worth $60,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 597.5% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 279 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Hyatt Hotels during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 335.2% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 383 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. 71.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

NYSE H traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $146.37. The stock had a trading volume of 493,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $151.31 and its 200 day moving average is $130.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.75, a PEG ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.49. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a twelve month low of $96.77 and a twelve month high of $161.50.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 3.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Insider Transactions at Hyatt Hotels

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Joan Bottarini sold 4,250 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total transaction of $547,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,454,664.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Joan Bottarini sold 4,250 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $547,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,664.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Margaret C. Egan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total value of $157,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,747.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,077,803 shares of company stock valued at $325,526,849. Corporate insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on H shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Hyatt Hotels from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $130.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hyatt Hotels from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.00.

About Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.