Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Bought by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,679 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 26,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,511,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $244,000. Genesis Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $247.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.40 billion, a PE ratio of 53.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $186.83 and a one year high of $259.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $249.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.20.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.24.

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.