ING Groep NV Acquires 30,489 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 160.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 49,446 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,489 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 10,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,568,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $329,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 91,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,578,000 after acquiring an additional 8,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 26,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,504,000 after acquiring an additional 20,182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $267.90 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.24. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.86 and a 12 month high of $275.22. The company has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 54.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 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, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide 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.