Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Purchases 282,726 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 785,828 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 282,726 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $13,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth about $807,878,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 155.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,610,981 shares of the company's stock worth $98,305,000 after buying an additional 3,412,589 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,899,205 shares of the company's stock valued at $278,554,000 after buying an additional 2,261,877 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,344,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,590,000 after buying an additional 1,432,772 shares during the period. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 11,052,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $193,634,000 after buying an additional 1,213,970 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HST. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Compass Point cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.17.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ HST traded up $0.25 on Friday, reaching $13.66. The company had a trading volume of 5,532,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,964,684. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $14.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.73. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.22 and a 12 month high of $19.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.86%. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.