Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,601 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide comprises 1.5% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Barclays upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $249.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.59, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.83 and a 1 year high of $259.01.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.