Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires 167 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.66 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.43, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.94.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

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

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.