Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st.

Hilton Worldwide has a payout ratio of 6.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $7.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.6%.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.3 %

HLT stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $269.55. 1,639,586 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,490,156. Hilton Worldwide has a 1-year low of $186.83 and a 1-year high of $274.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.71 billion, a PE ratio of 57.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.50.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $244.06.

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.