Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Purchases New Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $765,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HLT. Truist Financial increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $232.65.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $252.76 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $175.80 and a one year high of $259.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $244.95 and its 200-day moving average is $225.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. Hilton Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.