Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Purchased by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 29.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,816 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 876 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in 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 last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.61.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $259.81 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $254.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.74. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.25, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

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