PineStone Asset Management Inc. Purchases 4,500 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 528,010 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Hilton Worldwide accounts for approximately 1.2% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $130,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $265.96 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.43 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $252.01 and a 200-day moving average of $237.34. The stock has a market cap of $64.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. Equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

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.