Blue Trust Inc. Has $275,000 Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 62.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 10.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 17.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 129,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,809,000 after purchasing an additional 18,911 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,005,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 16.4% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 7.2% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $268.60 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.38. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $65.48 billion, a PE ratio of 43.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HLT. Macquarie increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.