Hopwood Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 170,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,131,000 after buying an additional 32,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of HLT opened at $228.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $254.16 and a 200-day moving average of $243.70. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve equities 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.