Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 290,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,710 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.12% of Hilton Worldwide worth $61,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on HLT shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.59.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.0 %

HLT traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,853,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,624,263. The stock has a market cap of $49.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.41. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.43 and a twelve month high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 81.29% and a net margin of 11.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Hilton Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.04%.

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.