Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 70.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,060 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth approximately $390,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.4% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter worth about $2,792,000. Finally, BOKF NA grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2,172.0% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 5,973 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % 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 company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.4 %

HLT stock opened at $252.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $237.24 and its 200-day moving average is $220.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.25 and a 1-year high of $255.86. The firm has a market cap of $61.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

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.