Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $3,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.4 %

HLT stock opened at $269.56 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $189.77 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The stock has a market cap of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.83, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $251.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.12.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HLT shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

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.