245 Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Acquired by Activest Wealth Management

Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,792,000. PGGM Investments raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 11,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31,548 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.3 %

Hilton Worldwide stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $250.91. 35,452 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,864. The stock has a market cap of $61.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.71. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.25 and a 1-year high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio 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 shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average 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.