Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,588,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 16.8% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 146,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,707,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $273.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $66.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.83 and a fifty-two week high of $274.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 57.01%. On average, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.