Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 16,132 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,630 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,132 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $8,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter worth $390,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,172.0% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,973 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 45.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $237.24 and its 200-day moving average is $220.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.29, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide 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.