Joan Bottarini, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hyatt Hotels Corp (NYSE:H), recently sold 2,641 shares of the company's Class A common stock. The sale comes as Hyatt trades near its 52-week high of $168.20, with the company showing impressive gross profit margins of 69% according to InvestingPro data. The shares were sold at a price of $164 each, resulting in a total transaction value of $433,124. Following this transaction, Bottarini holds approximately 7,405 shares directly. This sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which Bottarini adopted on September 16, 2024. With a market capitalization of $15.6 billion and an overall financial health score rated as "GREAT" by InvestingPro, which offers 8 additional key insights about Hyatt's performance and valuation, the company maintains a strong market position despite appearing slightly overvalued based on InvestingPro's Fair Value analysis.
In other recent news, Hyatt Hotels Corp. has made headlines with its planned acquisition of Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. for roughly $2.6 billion, a move that has led credit rating agency S&P Global to revise Hyatt's outlook from stable to negative. The acquisition, which includes about $900 million of Playa's debt, will be financed by new debt. Hyatt has also announced a new asset sale program, aiming to generate at least $2 billion of gross proceeds by 2027 to repay the acquisition-related debt.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has reiterated an Equalweight rating and a price target of $157.00 on Hyatt following the acquisition announcement. The firm noted that Hyatt plans to fund the acquisition entirely through new debt financing and anticipates paying down over 80% of this new debt with proceeds from asset sales.
Meanwhile, Stifel analysts maintained their Hold rating on Hyatt with a price target of $157.50, highlighting that the acquisition is a strategic move designed to secure long-term management contracts for high-quality resorts in key locations. Similarly, Truist Securities maintained a Hold rating on Playa with a $13.00 price target, expressing confidence in the likelihood of the transaction's successful closure.
Finally, Citi analysts updated their valuation of Playa shares, increasing the price target from $10.00 to $13.00 while maintaining a neutral stance on the stock. This revision comes as Hyatt extends its exclusivity period for negotiating with Playa.
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