AGF Management Ltd. Sells 25,014 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 511,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,014 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $126,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,487,000 after acquiring an additional 484,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,729,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $238.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $254.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.70.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share 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, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

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

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

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.