Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. $HLT Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. by 4.7%, now owning approximately $114.48 million worth of shares.
• Several institutional investors significantly raised their positions in Hilton, with Valley National Advisers Inc. boosting their holdings by 244.8% in the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Hilton Worldwide, with estimates ranging up to $300, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among market experts.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 503,074 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,701 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.21% of Hilton Worldwide worth $114,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 78.7% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 168 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 76.0% in 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 period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 244.8% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 127.1% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 218 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HLT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $296.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $282.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $296.00 to $291.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.40.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 11,905 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.40, for a total value of $3,207,207.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of HLT stock traded up $8.1870 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $277.3770. The company had a trading volume of 1,578,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,556,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.24 billion, a PE ratio of 42.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.26. The company's fifty day moving average is $266.47 and its 200 day moving average is $249.22. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.04 and a fifty-two week high of $279.46.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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