OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $44,000 in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $238.82 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.86 and a 12 month high of $275.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.85 and a 200-day moving average of $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.