Jennison Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 33.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $745,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $2,792,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.5% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 137,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,375,000 after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,137,000 after purchasing an additional 11,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $249.76 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $235.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.49. The firm has a market cap of $60.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % 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.

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.