GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,456 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 750 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $631,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third 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. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $765,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 49,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,515,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $246.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $60.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.90, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $248.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.92. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $178.23 and a 12 month high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide 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.