Bank of Montreal Can Sells 20,004 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 299,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,004 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $70,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HLT. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 10,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 30,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,023,000 after buying an additional 3,113 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 11,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $250.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $239.19 and a 200-day moving average of $221.46.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Melius downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.