Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Has $4.99 Million Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. lowered its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after acquiring an additional 164,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $265.96 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.81. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.43 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

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 that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value 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. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.61.

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.