TCW Group Inc. Makes New $8.45 Million Investment in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 34,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,453,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $259.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $253.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $240.12. 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, 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

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

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.