Jones Financial Companies Lllp Boosts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 194.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,633 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $147,000. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,593,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,608 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,094,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $250.61.

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Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:HLT opened at $247.35 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.86 and a 1-year high of $275.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $255.04 and a 200 day moving average of $243.54. The firm has a market cap of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, 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 directly owns 77,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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