Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 3,330 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,048 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,330 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $2,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,219 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the third quarter valued at about $19,545,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 256.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 19,939 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth about $42,280,000. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 8,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.99, for a total value of $1,176,032.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,197,384.98. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total transaction of $1,042,480.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444 over the last ninety days. 24.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $141.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $153.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.57. The company has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CHH shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

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.