GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Increases Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,590 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 223,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,597,000 after buying an additional 6,322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $234.33 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $253.19 and a 200 day moving average of $244.13. The firm has a market cap of $56.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.10, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.