Anchor Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 97.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after purchasing an additional 200,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $252.78 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $175.80 and a 12 month high of $259.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $244.95 and its 200 day moving average is $225.44. The company has a market capitalization of $61.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HLT. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.65.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.