Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 2,811,080 Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,811,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,787,000. Norges Bank owned 1.15% of Hilton Worldwide as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,773 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.4% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 60.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 30,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,004,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $258.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.53.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $232.10 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $193.86 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $251.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.61.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 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%. On average, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

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.