Bamco Inc. NY Purchases 16,256 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 308,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,256 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $71,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,593,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during 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. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,972,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 373,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,204,000 after buying an additional 63,517 shares during the period. Finally, PDT Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of HLT opened at $253.44 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.23. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.25 and a twelve month high of $255.86. The company has a market cap of $61.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HLT shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

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.