Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 485,952 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,574 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Hyatt Hotels were worth $73,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden boosted its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 51.2% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 35,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,378,000 after purchasing an additional 11,994 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 165.7% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,601,000 after purchasing an additional 33,603 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Hyatt Hotels by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 55,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 31.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 39,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,300,000 after purchasing an additional 9,559 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,413,000. 71.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $146.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $171.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $161.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hyatt Hotels currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 51,388 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.77, for a total transaction of $7,696,380.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 623,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,389,982.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

NYSE:H opened at $157.72 on Friday. Hyatt Hotels Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.77 and a fifty-two week high of $162.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 14.55% and a return on equity of 10.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.32%.

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.