Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $5,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HLT shares. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $259.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $254.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.00. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The firm 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.