Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,831 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $16,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 45.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,928,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.7% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 87,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,633,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 158.0% during the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,582,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $239.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.46. The company has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

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.