Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Stake Trimmed by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB lowered its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 78.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,497 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 53,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,368,000 after buying an additional 21,545 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. Macquarie lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $247.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $255.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.35. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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.