Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 32,074 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,098% compared to the average daily volume of 2,677 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.06.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

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

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HLT opened at $203.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $205.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.26 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $134.43 and a twelve month high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 92.07% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.04%.

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