Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys 350,748 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,983,220 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 350,748 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide comprises approximately 1.6% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.81% of Hilton Worldwide worth $490,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 acquiring an additional 919,424 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,893,000 after acquiring an additional 67,292 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,090,346,000 after purchasing an additional 320,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,164,000 after purchasing an additional 164,461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT stock opened at $208.72 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 50-day moving average of $248.39 and a 200 day moving average of $244.95. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.19.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on HLT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.56.

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.