Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 460,188 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,518 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Hilton Worldwide worth $113,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,642,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 425 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.7% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 17,925 shares of the company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 33,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,760,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $269.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,522,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,534,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.86, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $252.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.82. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. As a group, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 77,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $246.61.

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.