Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 742,079 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Hilton Worldwide worth $171,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company's stock worth $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,169 shares of the company's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% during the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT stock traded up $0.70 on Monday, hitting $249.11. 1,003,853 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,557,735. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $165.25 and a one year high of $255.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $233.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.76.

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

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business'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 transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.71.

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.