Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 194.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 953,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,098,000 after purchasing an additional 185,765 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 225,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,774,000 after buying an additional 4,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $229.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $253.37 and a 200 day moving average of $243.65. The company has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HLT shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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, the stock currently 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.