MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 920 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 6.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $1,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 941,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,046,000 after purchasing an additional 8,033 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,289 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after buying an additional 113,951 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after buying an additional 90,765 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $149.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $140.40 and its 200 day moving average is $128.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.91 and a 12 month high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 22.03%.

Choice Hotels International Company Profile

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.