Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 20,619 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. $HLT

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management cut its Hilton stake by 73.3% in the third quarter, selling 20,619 shares and retaining 7,510 shares valued at about $2.39 million.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $365.08; 18 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, while nine rate it Hold.
• Hilton reported quarterly EPS of $2.45, beating the $2.37 estimate, and revenue grew 6.6% year over year. Insiders sold 158,778 shares worth about $56.2 million over the past 90 days.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 73.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,510 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,619 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $2,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,526 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the company's stock worth $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 83.4% during the third quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,586 shares of the company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 22.3% in the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,938,000 after buying an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Platform Technology Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $296,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Argus set a $410.00 target price on Hilton Worldwide and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $383.00 to $386.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $335.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $365.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 7,289 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.81, for a total value of $2,258,205.09. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,365,622.98. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kevin Jacobs sold 151,050 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.19, for a total value of $53,802,499.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 293,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,633,662.02. This represents a 33.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 158,778 shares of company stock worth $56,196,944 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $373.23 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $263.95 and a 1 year high of $381.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $330.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.91.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.37 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 33.78% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 9.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.11%.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc is a global hospitality company that develops, manages, franchises and licenses hotels and resorts. Its portfolio serves a range of travelers, from luxury and leisure guests to business travelers and extended-stay customers. Hilton also operates a vacation ownership business through Hilton Grand Vacations under a long-term brand and licensing relationship.

The company's brands include Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, Homewood Suites and Hilton Honors, its guest loyalty program.

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