Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys Shares of 958 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $229.61 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $253.37 and its 200-day moving average is $243.65.

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

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 paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 9.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.61.

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.