Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,529,119 shares of the company’s stock after selling 60,077 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.63% of Hilton Worldwide worth $377,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.7 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $259.81 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $254.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.00.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 54.47%. Research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

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

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 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 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.