Aurora Investment Counsel Buys 419 Shares of Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN)

Aurora Investment Counsel increased its stake in Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,205 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. Vail Resorts accounts for 1.5% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Vail Resorts were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,185,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,717,000 after acquiring an additional 136,328 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vail Resorts by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,202,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,348,000 after acquiring an additional 47,417 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Vail Resorts by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 686,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,734,000 after purchasing an additional 51,438 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vail Resorts by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 649,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,252,000 after buying an additional 8,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP increased its stake in Vail Resorts by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 522,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,902,000 after purchasing an additional 57,484 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Angela A. Korch acquired 185 shares of Vail Resorts stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $160.00 per share, with a total value of $29,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,956 shares in the company, valued at $472,960. The trade was a 6.68 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MTN shares. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vail Resorts from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho decreased their price target on Vail Resorts from $227.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Vail Resorts from $197.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vail Resorts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.56.

Vail Resorts Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Vail Resorts stock opened at $159.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $167.95 and a 200 day moving average of $175.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. Vail Resorts, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.99 and a fifty-two week high of $233.57.

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 10th. The company reported $6.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.27. Vail Resorts had a return on equity of 21.90% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vail Resorts, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vail Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a $2.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $8.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. Vail Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.51%.

Vail Resorts Company Profile

Vail Resorts, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities.