Arizona State Retirement System Sells 982 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $17,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.1 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $259.35 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $255.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.86. The company has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. Equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upped 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, February 25th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

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.