Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases 685,023 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,265,087 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 685,023 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide makes up approximately 0.6% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 1.34% of Hilton Worldwide worth $806,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 3,773 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 60.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 30,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,004,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT stock opened at $225.49 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $193.86 and a fifty-two week high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.92.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.