Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Invests $209,000 in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Haverford Trust Co raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 1,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’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 value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on HLT shares. Macquarie upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 3.5 %

HLT opened at $229.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.65. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

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.