5,304 Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Bought by Argentarii LLC

Argentarii LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 5,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related 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 sale, the insider now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

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.