Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,392 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $13,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $383,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HLT traded up $2.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $256.47. The company had a trading volume of 460,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,895. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.83 and a 52-week high of $259.01. The stock has a market cap of $62.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.13, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.03.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven 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 $238.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.