Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 5,748 Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. $HLT

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. by 24%, now holding 18,184 shares valued at $4.14 million after selling 5,748 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.04 and showing a 6.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.14 billion.
• Hilton Worldwide has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 0.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 9.22%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 24.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,184 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,748 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $314,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,146 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 364,307 shares during the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $316,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the first quarter valued at $217,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 11,905 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.40, for a total transaction of $3,207,207.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 79,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,404,099.40. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE HLT traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $276.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,606. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $270.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $249.67. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.04 and a twelve month high of $279.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.49, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.21.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.16. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 46.13% and a net margin of 13.84%.The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Hilton Worldwide has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.980-2.040 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.830-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 9.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HLT. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $240.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $296.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $296.00 to $291.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.40.

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.