Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $12.30 Million Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $12,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $232.65.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $252.76 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $175.80 and a one year high of $259.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.24, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.82.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide 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.