Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,557 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $11,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in Vail Resorts by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vail Resorts by 6.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 649,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,252,000 after acquiring an additional 8,422 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Vail Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $87,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in Vail Resorts by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 7,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Angela A. Korch purchased 185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $160.00 per share, with a total value of $29,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,956 shares in the company, valued at $472,960. This trade represents a 6.68 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Vail Resorts from $227.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vail Resorts from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $152.00 price objective (down from $165.00) on shares of Vail Resorts in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Vail Resorts from $197.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.56.

Vail Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of MTN opened at $137.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $129.85 and a one year high of $225.45.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The company reported $6.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.27. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $2.22 per share. This represents a $8.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 27th. Vail Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 130.21%.

Vail Resorts Profile

Vail Resorts, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities.