Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,411,500 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 320,550 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.81% of Hilton Worldwide worth $1,090,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT traded down $5.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $211.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,517,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,569. The company has a market cap of $50.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.19. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $249.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.02.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HLT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $258.00 to $251.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.56.

Hilton Worldwide 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.