Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Trims Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after acquiring an additional 477,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HLT. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $249.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a PE ratio of 53.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its 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 negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.