Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Sells 339 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,487,000 after buying an additional 484,436 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $118,729,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $228.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.70. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on HLT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

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.