Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 259,518 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 259,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,142,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,164,000 after acquiring an additional 164,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $258.95 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.12.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade 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 corporate 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.