Vestcor Inc Sells 511 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Vestcor Inc lowered its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,289 shares of the company’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd 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. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,487,000 after acquiring an additional 484,436 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $118,729,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of HLT opened at $229.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.83. The company has a market cap of $55.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

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 paid 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 payout ratio is 9.76%.

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.