Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 320,550 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,090,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $258.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.53.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $225.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $250.94 and its 200 day moving average is $245.15.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.