Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,357 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,649 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $60,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,662 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after acquiring an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter worth about $98,607,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HLT. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of 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. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $248.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $233.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.62. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.93 and a 52-week high of $255.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.