Ascent Group LLC Acquires New Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,232 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23.7% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 129.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,672 shares of the company's stock worth $7,183,000 after acquiring an additional 18,965 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 271.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 18.6% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 638 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.7% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the company's stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE HLT traded up $3.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $254.02. 1,192,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,977. The stock has a market cap of $61.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.92 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.76 and a 200 day moving average of $223.09.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

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.