Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $878,000 Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 29.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.46. The company has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a PE ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

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.