BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Reduces Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,422 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $9,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the third quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on HLT. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $253.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $165.25 and a 52 week high of $255.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $240.26 and a 200 day moving average of $222.23.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% 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.