Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,029 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius cut Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $248.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $233.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.62. The firm has a market cap of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.93 and a 1 year high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

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