Patten & Patten Inc. TN Reduces Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,046 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $8,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,487,000 after buying an additional 484,436 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $118,729,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of HLT opened at $229.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.83. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given 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 yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.