Empirical Finance LLC Sells 95 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $267.43 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.83 and a fifty-two week high of $274.18. The business’s 50-day moving average is $250.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.10. The company has a market capitalization of $65.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 57.01%. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

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.