Hilton Worldwide Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 41,800 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,240% compared to the typical volume of 1,786 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,952,314,000 after purchasing an additional 919,424 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,225,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,786,151,000 after purchasing an additional 142,620 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,893,000 after buying an additional 67,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,346,000 after buying an additional 320,550 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $211.33. The stock had a trading volume of 2,605,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,860. Hilton Worldwide has a 12 month low of $193.86 and a 12 month high of $275.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.19.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (down from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.88.

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.