Clearbridge Investments LLC Raises Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 22.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,127 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $7,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after purchasing an additional 919,424 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,999,000 after buying an additional 685,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,746.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 502,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,487,000 after buying an additional 484,436 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HLT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.53.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $231.67 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $249.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.21. The company has a market cap of $55.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 can be accessed through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.