Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $133.49 Million Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2,746.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 502,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 484,436 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $133,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 47.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 32.3% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 20,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $255.04 and its 200 day moving average is $243.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.22, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLT shares. Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.