Edgestream Partners L.P. Takes Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,972,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after purchasing an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after acquiring an additional 200,329 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.44 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $240.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.99. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The stock has a market cap of $61.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLT. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

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.