Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,135 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $38,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after purchasing an additional 200,329 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $246.69 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $182.86 and a 1-year high of $259.01. The company’s fifty day moving average is $249.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share 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 usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HLT. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.