Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Given New $290.00 Price Target at Raymond James

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its price target upped by Raymond James from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.6 %

HLT stock opened at $273.47 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide has a 52 week low of $186.83 and a 52 week high of $274.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 57.01%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after buying an additional 919,424 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,999,000 after buying an additional 685,023 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.