Amalgamated Bank Has $12.45 Million Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,367 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 179.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 300,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,282,000 after acquiring an additional 193,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $257.92 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $253.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.87.

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 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 54.47%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized 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 buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.56.

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.