Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,662 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,841,000 after acquiring an additional 200,329 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,158,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,978,000 after acquiring an additional 26,075 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HLT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $250.14 on Thursday. 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 simple moving average is $235.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.71. The company has a market cap of $60.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.68, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th 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, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Worldwide news, 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 value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.