CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,705 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $9,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HLT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of HLT opened at $268.60 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.86 and a 12 month high of $275.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $252.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.38. The firm has a market cap of $65.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

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

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other 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 value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.