Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 598,434 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,910 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.09% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $10,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 27,882 shares of the company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth about $540,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $640,000 after buying an additional 17,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,516 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 23,637 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

HST has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Host Hotels & Resorts from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.17.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HST traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,015,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,889,115. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.28 and a 200-day moving average of $16.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.26. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.22 and a 12 month high of $20.22.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.