Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,039 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after buying an additional 477,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth about $65,960,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Evercore ISI raised 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. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $243.86 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.96 and a 52 week high of $259.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.33, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board 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 repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.