Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after purchasing an additional 164,461 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,597,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,748,000 after purchasing an additional 39,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $259.81 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.98 and its 200 day moving average is $242.74. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Macquarie boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.