Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,906 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $259.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 42.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.00. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. On average, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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.