Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,302 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,932 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $5,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after acquiring an additional 919,424 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,225,495 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,786,151,000 after acquiring an additional 142,620 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,893,000 after acquiring an additional 67,292 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,090,346,000 after acquiring an additional 320,550 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,164,000 after acquiring an additional 164,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $242.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.56.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $255.76 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.93 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $226.35 and its 200 day moving average is $243.23. The firm has a market cap of $60.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.23.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

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.