M&T Bank Corp Buys 6,002 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,369 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,002 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $38,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.59.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $255.91 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $175.80 and a one year high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.92, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.88.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.