Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Trading Down 5.6% Following Insider Selling

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)’s share price dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $116.89 and last traded at $116.96. Approximately 142,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 577,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.92.

Specifically, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total transaction of $1,168,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,561.60. The trade was a 51.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kinsey Wolf sold 1,000 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total transaction of $122,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,712.45. This trade represents a 55.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on H shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $145.50 to $157.50 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $170.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.97.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.42 and a 200 day moving average of $151.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.22). Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 19.50%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is 4.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,550,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,363,000 after purchasing an additional 67,385 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,849,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,376,000 after purchasing an additional 9,477 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,694,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,960,000 after buying an additional 46,413 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Hyatt Hotels by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,755,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,192,000 after buying an additional 56,082 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,716,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,532,000 after buying an additional 37,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

About Hyatt Hotels

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.