Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Shares Bought by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,188 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,849 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.29% of Choice Hotels International worth $19,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,562 shares of the company's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the company's stock worth $1,838,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 370 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,221 shares of the company's stock valued at $883,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.69.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE CHH traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $125.31. The stock had a trading volume of 50,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,857. The firm's 50 day moving average is $133.60 and its 200 day moving average is $140.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.08. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.22 and a twelve month high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total transaction of $519,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,797.90. This trade represents a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total transaction of $257,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at $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. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Choice Hotels International

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.