Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 480,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,729,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.20% of Hilton Worldwide at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 53,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,368,000 after purchasing an additional 21,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

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

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.35. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $59.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly 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 54.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

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

Hilton Worldwide 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.