Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,010,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,014 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Hilton Worldwide worth $6,181,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $228.78 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $55.04 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $252.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.49. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.53.

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.