Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Position Trimmed by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,831 shares of the company's stock after selling 47,157 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $20,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $246.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,369,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,304. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $182.86 and a twelve month high of $259.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.94, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50-day moving average price is $249.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.07.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.