Truist Financial Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,520 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $11,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $267.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.24. The company has a market cap of $64.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. On average, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 sale, 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. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HLT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

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.