Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 15.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the quarter. Hilton Worldwide accounts for about 1.4% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,479,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 32.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 8.0% in the third quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 3,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 269,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,050,000 after buying an additional 3,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 52,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,160,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE HLT opened at $246.46 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $228.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.21. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.82 and a 12-month high of $249.36. The company has a market cap of $60.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.89, a PEG ratio of 2.93 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,460,933. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

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.