Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 1,065 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,356 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 11,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 approximately $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $252.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

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.