Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 167,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,901 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $24,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,098,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,831,336,000 after purchasing an additional 269,451 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,526,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,623,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,233 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,610,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,806,000 after acquiring an additional 185,704 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,237,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,167,300,000 after acquiring an additional 2,480,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,486,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,113,000 after acquiring an additional 40,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 10,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.61, for a total value of $1,809,884.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,706,032.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 10,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.61, for a total transaction of $1,809,884.43. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,032.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kristin Ann Campbell sold 8,286 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.03, for a total value of $1,276,292.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 230,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,441,840.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $148.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.6 %

HLT opened at $169.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.19. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $169.41.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.67. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 115.21% and a net margin of 13.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Hilton Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

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 premium economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.