Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Increases Stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 179.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 300,574 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193,063 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $69,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after buying an additional 11,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,853,000 after purchasing an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,628,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 321,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,185,000 after purchasing an additional 31,548 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 271.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Melius downgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $250.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.23. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.92 and a 12 month high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % 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 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.