Quartz Partners LLC Buys 686 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Quartz Partners LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,957 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. FMR LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after purchasing an additional 164,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’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 owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $259.31 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $253.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.12. The firm has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.86 and a 1-year high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

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.