100,500 Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Bought by Watchtower Advisors LP

Watchtower Advisors LP bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 100,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,165,000. Hilton Worldwide accounts for approximately 10.7% of Watchtower Advisors LP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HLT. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company's stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised 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 valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised 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 valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock traded up $3.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $258.46. 1,663,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,539,895. The stock's fifty day moving average is $242.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.31. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.29 and a fifty-two week high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.