Bamco Inc. NY Acquires 16,256 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,256 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY owned about 0.13% of Hilton Worldwide worth $71,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,984,000 after purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after buying an additional 477,212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $253.44 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.39, a PEG 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.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.