ING Groep NV Reduces Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

ING Groep NV reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,690 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 20.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 2,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,044,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,908,000 after purchasing an additional 761,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 204.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 22,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 15,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $248.41 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.93 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $232.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.15.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.15 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.