Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 6,920,924 Shares of DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH - Free Report) by 87.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,010,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,920,924 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of DiamondRock Hospitality worth $9,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 234,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,118,000 after buying an additional 4,696 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 320,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 26,213 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 39,187 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares during the period. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. bought a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality in the fourth quarter valued at $4,707,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in DiamondRock Hospitality during the 4th quarter valued at $857,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from an "outperform" rating to an "inline" rating and set a $10.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $10.75 to $10.25 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.05.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRH traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $8.22. 2,972,516 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,881,582. DiamondRock Hospitality has a one year low of $7.74 and a one year high of $10.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.78 and a 200 day moving average of $8.88. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from DiamondRock Hospitality's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. DiamondRock Hospitality's payout ratio is 188.24%.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company Profile

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 36 premium quality hotels with over 9,700 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its portfolio to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as independent boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment.