Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,462 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,859 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $42,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $222.60 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.55.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value 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. 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, March 4th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.