Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,417 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $247.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.14. The firm has a market cap of $59.51 billion, a PE ratio of 40.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.