ShawSpring Partners LLC Trims Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

ShawSpring Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 289,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169,001 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide makes up 8.4% of ShawSpring Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. ShawSpring Partners LLC owned 0.12% of Hilton Worldwide worth $66,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 45.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 87,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,633,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 158.0% in the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 3,919 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT opened at $252.92 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.25. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The company has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

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.