Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 1,529 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,974 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $5,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 8.0% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 1,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 1st quarter worth $91,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.94.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE HLT opened at $194.47 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.43 and a 52 week high of $215.79. The company has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.05.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 13.86%.

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