Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,387 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,345 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $28,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HLT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 16.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 33,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,760,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’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 owns 22,833 shares in the company, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock 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 stock has a market cap of $64.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.34.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 57.01%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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.