Huntington National Bank Decreases Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Huntington National Bank cut its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,698 shares of the company’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $9,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,044,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,908,000 after buying an additional 761,104 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,841,000 after acquiring an additional 200,329 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of HLT opened at $250.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $232.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.92. The company has a market cap of $60.96 billion, a PE ratio of 53.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.93 and a 12-month high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $228.71.

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.