Parallel Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $356,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,492,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 14,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,560,000 after buying an additional 3,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 280,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,377,000 after buying an additional 18,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $232.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $252.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.11. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.86 and a 1-year high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $56.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.