Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,350 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,449 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $22,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 26,316 shares of the company's stock worth $6,504,000 after purchasing an additional 20,182 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,060 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the company's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,885 shares of the company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 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 upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock traded down $8.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $259.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,797,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,550,284. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $253.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.