Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Skye Global Management LP

Skye Global Management LP reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 15.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 446,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,000 shares during the period. Hilton Worldwide makes up about 2.5% of Skye Global Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Skye Global Management LP owned approximately 0.18% of Hilton Worldwide worth $102,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 600,593 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,610,000 after buying an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,460,933. This trade represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $250.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.25 and a 1 year high of $255.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.66.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HLT. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Company 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.