Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,266 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at about $425,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 12.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 691,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,768,000 after buying an additional 77,560 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 39,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 6,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,436,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HLT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT opened at $246.77 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.19 and a 1-year high of $259.01. The stock has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.74.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

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

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.