Noble Wealth Management PBC Purchases Shares of 108 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HLT. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.3% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 21.5% in the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 14,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.1% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 162,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 47.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $265.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.03.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.24.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.