Hopwood Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $228.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.70. The company has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Macquarie boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.