King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires New Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PGGM Investments raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,137,000 after buying an additional 11,092 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,853,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,628,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,185,000 after acquiring an additional 31,548 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 271.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.5 %

HLT opened at $253.00 on Monday. 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 simple moving average of $237.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.58. The company has a market capitalization of $61.68 billion, a PE ratio of 54.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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 downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

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.