Golden State Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HLT. Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, 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 owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock traded up $1.58 on Tuesday, reaching $269.06. 2,045,003 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,507,100. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $186.83 and a one year high of $274.18. The company has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $250.97 and a 200-day moving average of $236.48.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.