Verus Capital Partners LLC Has $294,000 Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 23.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,191 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HLT. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.24.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $265.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.80 billion, a PE ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $254.59 and its 200 day moving average is $241.79. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

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

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.