Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 81 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,594 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $258.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.08, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.50. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.