Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Bought by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 18.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,704 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 4.1% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $771,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $250.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.92. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.93 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.96 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide 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.