First Business Financial Services Inc. Purchases 259 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,090 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $1,246,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $593,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.1 %

HLT stock opened at $259.35 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.86. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $62.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.17, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. Research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction 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 $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was 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.

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.