Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 332 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,263 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,679,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $554,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 18,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,981,000 after buying an additional 5,134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $269.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $250.63 and a 200 day moving average of $235.85. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.83 and a 52 week high of $274.18.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $244.06.

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.