Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 3,670 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 240.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,670 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after acquiring an additional 200,329 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HLT. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.59.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 54.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $172.62 and a one year high of $259.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $243.08 and a 200 day moving average of $224.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company 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%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 presently 12.88%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.