Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,519 shares of the company’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 55.8% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total transaction of $519,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,797.90. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total value of $257,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at $4,622,821.60. The trade was a 5.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

CHH opened at $130.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.22 and a fifty-two week high of $157.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.90 and a 200-day moving average of $140.44.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 18.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CHH shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.67.

Choice Hotels International 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.