Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 873 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,814,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,856,000 after acquiring an additional 32,531 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.9 %

HLT opened at $247.76 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.83 and a 1-year high of $259.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $249.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.20. The company has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.