Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS cut its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $25,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at approximately $314,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 3.9% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 163,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,155,000 after buying an additional 6,146 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 8.1% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,836,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,530,000 after buying an additional 364,307 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 44.3% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HLT. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $276.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $235.00 price objective (down previously from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $240.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.56.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT traded up $5.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $273.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,735,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,179,280. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $259.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.01, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $196.04 and a one year high of $279.46.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.13%. The business's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.22%.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.