Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Stock Position Lifted by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,387 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $255.04 and a 200-day moving average of $243.14. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.