Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $3.73 Million Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.6 %

HLT stock opened at $273.47 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.83 and a 1-year high of $274.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $251.33 and its 200-day moving average is $236.86. The firm has a market cap of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HLT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.