Clarendon Private LLC Buys New Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen decreased 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Melius cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $247.76 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $249.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a PE ratio of 53.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.83 and a 1-year high of $259.01.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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.