MML Investors Services LLC Sells 3,343 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

MML Investors Services LLC lowered its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,028 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $7,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,010 shares of the company's stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at $3,397,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 79.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 132,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,574,000 after purchasing an additional 58,813 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 240.5% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Watchtower Advisors LP purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at $23,165,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $230.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $255.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,145,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,144. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $175.80 and a one year high of $259.01. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $244.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.12, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.