National Pension Service Buys 12,304 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 522,669 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,304 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $95,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter worth about $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.59.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE HLT traded up $0.55 on Thursday, reaching $200.94. The company had a trading volume of 446,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,477,561. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.49 and its 200 day moving average is $187.59. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.43 and a 52-week high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.41% and a negative return on equity of 81.29%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.04%.

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.