Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 547 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,898 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 547 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Brookwood Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $307,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $976,000. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 700.7% in the first quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 18,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,302,000 after purchasing an additional 16,544 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 8.1% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% in the first quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE HLT opened at $260.79 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.04 and a 1-year high of $279.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $261.36 and a 200-day moving average of $247.74. The firm has a market cap of $61.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.26.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.16. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 46.13% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 9.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HLT. Barclays reduced their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $296.00 to $291.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $228.00 to $296.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $282.00 target price for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.19.

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.