Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Stake Lifted by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3,515.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,386 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third 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 increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth about $65,960,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HLT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $243.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $249.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.66. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.96 and a 52 week high of $259.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

Hilton Worldwide 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.