Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Holdings Trimmed by National Pension Service

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 570,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,093 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $140,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $259.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.00. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. On average, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.