Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Holdings Cut by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,870 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $7,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 16.8% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 33,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,760,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $265.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.43 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $252.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.68.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 57.01%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.