Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 508,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,778 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.07% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $8,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HST. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,243,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,056,000 after buying an additional 950,431 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,878,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,047,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,076,000 after purchasing an additional 643,450 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,902,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,698,000 after purchasing an additional 180,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,899,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,261,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of HST opened at $14.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.17. 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 $13.83 and a 1 year high of $20.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.46%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HST. Morgan Stanley upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company 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.