Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Raises Holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 521.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 472 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $67,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,219 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after buying an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 279,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,634,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter valued at about $879,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,258,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total transaction of $519,050.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,797.90. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $134.02 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.01. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.22 and a 12 month high of $157.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $389.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.24 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research 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 stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $131.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.62.

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.