abrdn plc Reduces Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

abrdn plc lessened its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,516 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,954 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $24,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 5.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,199 shares of the company's stock worth $11,571,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 726 shares of the company's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 6.2% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,341 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Melius Research reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $267.43 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $250.63 and a 200 day moving average of $236.10. The company has a market capitalization of $65.19 billion, a PE ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.83 and a 1 year high of $274.18.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors 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.