Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Purchased by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,117 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,215 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 528,010 shares of the company's stock worth $130,503,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,508 shares of the company's stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock traded down $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $267.90. 1,111,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,522,244. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $253.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

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.