GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,172.0% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 5,973 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 45.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,928,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 87,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,077 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $253.00 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $237.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.58.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

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.