Insider Selling: Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Insider Sells 23,366 Shares of Stock

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of HLT stock traded down $2.71 on Tuesday, hitting $250.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,580,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,325. The company has a market cap of $61.02 billion, a PE ratio of 54.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.22. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $176.88 and a one year high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $232.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.