Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 37.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,165 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 69.9% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 21,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 8,653 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the first quarter valued at approximately $95,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 11.7% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,526,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,623,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 157.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,160,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,608,000 after acquiring an additional 709,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $166.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $151.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $166.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $160.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.53.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $151.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.24. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.39 and a fifty-two week high of $157.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.92 and a 200 day moving average of $144.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.05. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 128.71% and a net margin of 13.23%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.53%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 12,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $1,769,588.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,270 shares in the company, valued at $745,283.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

About Hilton Worldwide

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 premium economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.