Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HLT. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $259.31 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.64. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.29.

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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

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.