Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 259 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 518.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $56,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HLT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $337,490,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,237,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,167,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480,451 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 181.1% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,607,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,680,156 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 54.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,840,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,270,000 after acquiring an additional 650,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,200,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $637,433,000 after acquiring an additional 583,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE HLT opened at $194.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.88 billion, a PE ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.43 and a 52 week high of $215.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.05.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 13.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.94.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.