Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stake in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,716,986 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,057 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 1.79% of Hyatt Hotels worth $269,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of H. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Hyatt Hotels by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,849,892 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,376,000 after buying an additional 9,477 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,694,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,960,000 after acquiring an additional 46,413 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,148 shares of the company's stock worth $219,343,000 after purchasing an additional 6,007 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,105 shares of the company's stock worth $114,214,000 after purchasing an additional 7,440 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 241.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 679,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,677,000 after purchasing an additional 480,523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on H. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $161.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $157.00 to $144.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hyatt Hotels from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan D. Kronick sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.78, for a total transaction of $226,848.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,927 shares in the company, valued at $5,377,290.06. This trade represents a 4.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kinsey Wolf sold 1,000 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total value of $122,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 811 shares in the company, valued at $99,712.45. This trade represents a 55.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,517,798 over the last quarter. 23.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

H stock traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $112.44. The company had a trading volume of 627,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,252. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.21. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.35. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a 1 year low of $102.43 and a 1 year high of $168.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.22). Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 9.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Hyatt Hotels's payout ratio is 4.82%.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

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.