Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 550,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,026 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $136,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,164,000 after buying an additional 164,461 shares during the period. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $269.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $250.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.50. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.83 and a fifty-two week high of $274.18.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $244.06.

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.