Klingman & Associates LLC Raises Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 129,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,809,000 after purchasing an additional 18,911 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, GAM Holding AG raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 78,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $269.75 on Thursday. 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. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.03 and a 200 day moving average of $239.04.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other 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 transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.