Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 573 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,780 shares of the company’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $13,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 13.8% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE HLT opened at $269.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $250.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $235.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.83 and a 12-month high of $274.18.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.06.

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.