Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 418 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,707 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.6 %

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.85 billion, a PE ratio of 54.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.83 and a twelve month high of $259.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $249.28 and a 200-day moving average of $233.65.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.