Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Stock Price

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $265.00 to $274.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

HLT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given 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.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $250.93 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $255.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $765,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $1,246,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $593,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.