Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Insider Sells $5,880,287.56 in Stock

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) 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 value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $250.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $245.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.57. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.88 and a 12-month high of $259.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide announced 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLT shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.