Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,645,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,827,000 after buying an additional 162,562 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 1.2% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 574,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,209,000 after acquiring an additional 6,896 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 485,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,822,000 after acquiring an additional 46,574 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 469,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,371,000 after purchasing an additional 20,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 354,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,016,000 after purchasing an additional 29,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hyatt Hotels

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 3,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $604,122.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,798 shares in the company, valued at $927,622.02. This represents a 39.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Shares of H opened at $159.28 on Wednesday. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a 12-month low of $123.00 and a 12-month high of $168.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $154.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.12.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.74%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

H has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $160.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.64.

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.