Meitav Investment House Ltd. Sells 6,235 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. cut its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 74.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,235 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.6 %

HLT opened at $267.90 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.86 and a 12 month high of $275.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.24. The stock has a market cap of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

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.