B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Increases Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 152.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,180 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 31,527 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,901,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after purchasing an additional 919,424 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,164,000 after buying an additional 164,461 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,999,000 after acquiring an additional 685,023 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.53.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $225.49 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $250.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.