Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,572 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 2.4 %

HLT opened at $265.19 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The stock has a market cap of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $254.59 and its 200-day moving average is $241.54.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide 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.