Wealthfront Advisers LLC Sells 3,514 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,514 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,487,000 after buying an additional 484,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,729,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $222.60 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.86 and a 52-week high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.71 and its 200-day moving average is $243.55.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HLT. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.