Friedenthal Financial Acquires Shares of 199 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.4 %

HLT opened at $241.62 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.96 and a 12 month high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $58.90 billion, a PE ratio of 51.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $249.39 and a 200 day moving average of $231.47.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.