Veritable L.P. Lowers Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Veritable L.P. decreased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. Veritable L.P.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 2,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $191.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $169.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $182.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT opened at $168.29 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $168.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.49 and a 200-day moving average of $148.96. The company has a market cap of $43.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.20.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67. The firm had revenue of $2.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.13% and a negative return on equity of 115.21%. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.07%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 10,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.61, for a total value of $1,809,884.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,032.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 10,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.61, for a total value of $1,809,884.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,032.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kristin Ann Campbell sold 8,286 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.03, for a total value of $1,276,292.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 230,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,441,840.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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