Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 270,177 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,472,123 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270,177 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,105,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,617,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,893,000 after purchasing an additional 67,292 shares during the last quarter. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 270,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,802,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,346,000 after purchasing an additional 320,550 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Macquarie raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.53.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $227.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $250.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.86 and a 52-week high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $54.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.