Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $878,000 Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 29.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PGGM Investments increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 11,092 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,185,000 after acquiring an additional 31,548 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 271.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 4,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.0 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.46. The stock has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.