Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,805 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.65.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other 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 transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $252.76 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.82. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.80 and a 52 week high of $259.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.