Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 102 Shares of Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,939,981 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.02% of Hyatt Hotels worth $304,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,755,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,192,000 after acquiring an additional 56,082 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Hyatt Hotels by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,441,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,343,000 after purchasing an additional 6,007 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,214,000 after purchasing an additional 7,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,136,000. 73.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Shares of H opened at $121.77 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.51. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a 52 week low of $116.13 and a 52 week high of $168.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.22). The company 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 company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $172.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $207.00 to $201.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $157.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $162.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hyatt Hotels presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.80, for a total transaction of $1,168,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,561.60. This represents a 51.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kinsey Wolf sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total transaction of $122,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,712.45. This trade represents a 55.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,517,798. Corporate insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels 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.