Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Increases Stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,931 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $2,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,423,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,070,000 after buying an additional 8,362 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 949,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,822,000 after purchasing an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 38.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,419,000 after purchasing an additional 111,903 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter valued at $48,201,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 279,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CHH shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.62.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CHH opened at $132.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.22 and a 12 month high of $157.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $143.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.65.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The business had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $374.24 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,797.90. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total transaction of $257,032.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,622,821.60. The trade was a 5.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Profile

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.