Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,655 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $240.89 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.62 and a 12-month high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.15.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.50% 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.