Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 1,065 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 46.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,356 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after purchasing an additional 16,132 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $893,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 24.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 408,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,172,000 after buying an additional 79,499 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 9.8% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 13,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $252.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $237.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.25 and a fifty-two week high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HLT. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide 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.