MONECO Advisors LLC Has $242,000 Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

MONECO Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 979 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.2% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 5.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 277.6% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,453 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth about $25,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLT. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $257.92 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.87.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.