Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Plans $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st.

Hilton Worldwide has a payout ratio of 6.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $9.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.6%.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HLT traded up $1.58 during midday trading 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 has a 1 year low of $186.83 and a 1 year high of $274.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.48. The stock has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.75, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.61.

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.