Ballast Advisors LLC Purchases 155 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,621 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 768.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,592,000 after purchasing an additional 12,861 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 48,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,666,000. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $231.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $252.46 and its 200-day moving average is $244.02. The stock has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.86 and a 1-year high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLT shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.71.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.