Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $13,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $258.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 42.11, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % 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.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.