Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLT. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $247.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $255.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.54.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.