GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys Shares of 979 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 59.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 19.0% in the third quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 21,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,048,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 67.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 53,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,368,000 after buying an additional 21,545 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $253.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 54.29, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $165.25 and a one year high of $255.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.24 and a 200 day moving average of $220.58.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus 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.