Insider Selling: Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Insider Sells 23,366 Shares of Stock

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’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 value of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT traded down $2.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $250.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,580,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,325. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.88 and a 52-week high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $61.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.30, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.22.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HLT. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $765,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.