California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 462,341 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,890 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $84,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 494.9% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.78.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $204.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $205.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.32. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.27, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.43 and a twelve month high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.86%.

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.