Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,287 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $11,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,597,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,748,000 after purchasing an additional 39,786 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of HLT opened at $226.86 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $252.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.