New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $2.89 Million Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board trimmed its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HLT. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.3 %

HLT stock opened at $265.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $252.16 and a 200-day moving average of $237.68. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.43 and a 12-month high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.