Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Bought by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,005 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $13,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company's stock worth $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company's stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company's stock worth $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company's stock worth $840,164,000 after purchasing an additional 164,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company's stock worth $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.2 %

HLT traded down $8.51 on Friday, hitting $259.31. 1,797,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,550,284. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $253.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.87.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS 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%. Equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is 9.76%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HLT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $246.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide 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.