Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 2,395 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,865 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $8,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HLT. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 225,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,774,000 after buying an additional 4,846 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $231.38 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $254.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.81.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.61.

Hilton Worldwide 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.