New York Life Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,170 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,163 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $2,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 113,761 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 36,278 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $540,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $4,775,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $639,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HST shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target 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. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $16.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Equities analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.96%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.81%.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.