Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,186 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hyatt Hotels were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 583.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Hyatt Hotels by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 750.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 467 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE H opened at $106.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.67. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a 1-year low of $102.43 and a 1-year high of $168.20.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 9.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

H has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $161.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie decreased their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hyatt Hotels presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.22.

Insider Activity at Hyatt Hotels

In other news, Director Susan D. Kronick sold 1,600 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.78, for a total transaction of $226,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 37,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,377,290.06. This trade represents a 4.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total value of $1,168,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,337 shares in the company, valued at $1,090,561.60. This trade represents a 51.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,600 shares of company stock worth $1,517,798 over the last three months. 23.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.