E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,658 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. 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 worth $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $118,729,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $64,142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $250.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.80, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $255.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $242.91.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

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.