Sanctuary Advisors LLC Acquires 605 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,465 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $669,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 97.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 11,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 132,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,619,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 18.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $232.65.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $252.78 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.95 and its 200-day moving average is $225.44. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.80 and a 52 week high of $259.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.24, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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 (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

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.