Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2%, selling 8,700 shares and now owns 687,479 shares worth approximately $156.4 million.
• Several hedge funds have modified their holdings, with Fayez Sarofim & Co increasing their stake by 4.2% and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. raising theirs by 10.6% in the same period.
• Hilton Worldwide reported earnings of $2.20 per share for the latest quarter, beating estimates and yielding a 6.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 687,479 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Hilton Worldwide worth $156,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 23,543.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,053,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,397,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,101 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 426.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 762,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,400,000 after acquiring an additional 617,604 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 30.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,140,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,135,000 after acquiring an additional 494,224 shares in the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $109,492,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 11.3% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,784,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,132,000 after acquiring an additional 385,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $296.00 to $291.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial increased 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, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $235.00 price target (down previously from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.40.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $261.14. 1,523,264 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,920,278. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.04 and a 1 year high of $279.46. The company has a market cap of $61.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.25.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.