Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Buys 1,150 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.6% during the first quarter, owning a total of 8,530 shares worth approximately $1.94 million.
• Hilton Worldwide's stock has a strong institutional backing, with 95.90% of the shares owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The latest earnings report showed Hilton Worldwide exceeding analysts' expectations with an EPS of $2.20 and revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,530 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 78.7% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 76.0% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 244.8% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 127.1% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 218 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the first quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank raised Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $235.00 target price (down previously from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $259.19.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of HLT traded down $4.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $268.64. The company had a trading volume of 915,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,124. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $260.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.45. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.04 and a 52 week high of $279.46. The company has a market capitalization of $63.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.25.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.13%. Hilton Worldwide's revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

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.