Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,552 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.46. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.25 and a fifty-two week high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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