Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Position Cut by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,235 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.6 %

HLT opened at $267.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $253.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.24.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.