First Business Financial Services Inc. Has $1.58 Million Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,831 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,044,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,715,908,000 after purchasing an additional 761,104 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $667,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after purchasing an additional 200,329 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on HLT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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 transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of HLT opened at $250.08 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.93 and a 1-year high of $255.86. The firm has a market cap of $60.96 billion, a PE ratio of 53.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.92.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is 12.88%.

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

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.