Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 32,074 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,098% compared to the typical volume of 2,677 call options.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $202.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.94, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $134.43 and a fifty-two week high of $215.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $205.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.82.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.41% and a negative return on equity of 81.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 13.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at $496,338,015.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $4,270,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 19,454.9% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 296,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,981,000 after purchasing an additional 294,937 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 298,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,267,000 after purchasing an additional 30,676 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,674,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,159,000 after purchasing an additional 98,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.