Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 178 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its stake 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $1,104,610,000 after purchasing an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter valued at about $65,960,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $246.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.07. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $182.86 and a 1 year high of $259.01. The company has a market capitalization of $60.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.24.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.