Aigen Investment Management LP Decreases Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 93.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,433 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after buying an additional 164,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,597,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,748,000 after buying an additional 39,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $247.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $255.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.54. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The company has a market capitalization of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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, 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 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 stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm 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 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

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.