Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,742,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,347 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.95% of Hilton Worldwide worth $1,093,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. PGGM Investments increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,137,000 after buying an additional 11,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31,548 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $250.14 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.25 and a twelve month high of $255.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.68, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.71.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.