Gilbert & Cook Inc. Buys 256 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,473 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,148,000 after buying an additional 1,246,662 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after buying an additional 477,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $98,607,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE HLT opened at $248.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $233.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.62. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.93 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The company has a market cap of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

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.