Hilton Worldwide’s (HLT) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at Mizuho

Mizuho reissued their neutral rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $263.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $243.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.88.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $257.51 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $186.83 and a one year high of $260.79. The company has a market cap of $62.78 billion, a PE ratio of 55.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.78 and a 200-day moving average of $235.11.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd 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 holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after acquiring an additional 164,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.