HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,093 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 44,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $754,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $246.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $249.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.30. The company has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.94, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $182.86 and a one year high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

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.