Cooper Financial Group Boosts Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,637 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 401 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors 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 about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on HLT. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $241.62 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.96 and a fifty-two week high of $259.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.47. The company has a market capitalization of $58.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.85, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

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.