Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 170,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,131,000 after buying an additional 32,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $228.46 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $254.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.70. The company has a market capitalization of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often 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 given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HLT. Barclays increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide 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.