Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $17.59 Million Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,003,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,586,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Host Hotels & Resorts at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Invst LLC boosted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the company's stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company's stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,870 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth $182,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,684 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HST shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Compass Point lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.10.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of HST stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $13.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,316,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,960,224. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $14.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts's 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.