Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 484,436 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2,746.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 502,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 484,436 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.21% of Hilton Worldwide worth $133,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now 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. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HLT. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.14. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.86 and a 52-week high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 9.76%.

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.