King Luther Capital Management Corp Buys Shares of 869 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,610,000 after purchasing an additional 477,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter worth $98,607,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $253.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization 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 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.24 and a two-hundred 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.