Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,470 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $7,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% during the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $253.66 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $237.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.94.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.