Swiss National Bank Sells 45,900 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 696,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $172,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $222.60 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.55.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

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.