Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases New Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $694,787,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23,543.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,053,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,397,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,101 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 919,424 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company's stock worth $806,999,000 after buying an additional 685,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 426.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 762,261 shares of the company's stock worth $188,400,000 after buying an additional 617,604 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HLT. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $296.00 in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $233.00 to $232.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.06.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock traded down $1.72 on Monday, hitting $247.15. 622,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,040,005. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $239.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.38. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.04 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $58.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.24.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.90% and a negative return on equity of 49.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is 9.46%.

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.