Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,742,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,347 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.95% of Hilton Worldwide worth $1,093,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $893,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 408,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,172,000 after buying an additional 79,499 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $200,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 13,400 shares of the company's stock worth $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,370,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HLT. Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT traded up $1.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $252.03. The company had a trading volume of 815,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,902. The stock has a market cap of $61.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.71. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $165.25 and a one year high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % 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 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.