Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Holdings Reduced by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,004 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.12% of Hilton Worldwide worth $70,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake 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 worth $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,610,000 after purchasing an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth approximately $98,607,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HLT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % 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 Price Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.46. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.25 and a 52-week high of $255.86.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.