Fred Alger Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. FMR LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,841,000 after buying an additional 200,329 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $253.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $240.26 and a 200 day moving average of $221.99. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $165.25 and a 52 week high of $255.86. The company has a market cap of $61.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its 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 net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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

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.