Clarendon Private LLC Buys New Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, 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 value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $247.76 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.83 and a 1 year high of $259.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.20. The firm has a market cap of $60.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.17, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

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

About Hilton Worldwide

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.