Kintegral Advisory LLC Trims Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,186 shares of the company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Kintegral Advisory LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after buying an additional 600,593 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 179.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 300,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,282,000 after acquiring an additional 193,063 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $259.31 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $193.86 and a 52-week high of $275.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $253.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 54.47%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HLT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.61.

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.