SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 49.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,867 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,250 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide comprises approximately 7.3% of SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $10,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HLT. FMR LLC raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,817,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,841,000 after purchasing an additional 200,329 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of HLT opened at $246.69 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $182.86 and a 12-month high of $259.01. The company has a market cap of $60.14 billion, a PE ratio of 52.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $249.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.07.

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

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.