IFP Advisors Inc Purchases 376 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,624 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT opened at $265.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.79. The firm has a market cap of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.