Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 227 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. CWM LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,642,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 16.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 146,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,707,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $273.47 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.83 and a 12 month high of $274.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $251.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.