986 Shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Acquired by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $250.00 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.83 and a 1 year high of $259.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $249.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.85.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.