Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. $HLT Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management reduced its Hilton stake by 18.8% in the third quarter, selling 95,700 shares and retaining 413,485 shares worth approximately $131.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.9% of Hilton’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Hilton carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $355.09; recent firms upgraded the stock to Buy or Strong Buy.
• Hilton shares opened at $344.95, near their 52-week high of $358.00. The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.29, ahead of estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 413,485 shares of the company's stock after selling 95,700 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Hilton Worldwide worth $131,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,271,258,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,733,669,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter worth about $663,882,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter valued at approximately $437,227,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter valued at $389,475,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Freedom Broker assumed coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $359.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $365.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hilton Worldwide to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $355.09.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT opened at $344.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $318.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $324.61. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $253.54 and a fifty-two week high of $358.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.64 billion, a PE ratio of 50.65, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.10.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 12.69% and a negative return on equity of 35.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Hilton Worldwide has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.280-2.340 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.890-9.010 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 7,289 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.81, for a total value of $2,258,205.09. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,458 shares in the company, valued at $10,365,622.98. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Chris Carr sold 439 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.34, for a total value of $136,239.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,925.68. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc is a global hospitality company that develops, manages, franchises and licenses hotels, resorts and other lodging properties. The company serves business and leisure travelers through a broad portfolio of brands spanning luxury, full-service, focused-service, extended-stay and lifestyle accommodations.

Its brand portfolio includes Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Motto by Hilton and additional specialty brands.

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