Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Decreases Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP has reduced its stake in Hilton Worldwide to 251,474 shares, worth approximately $57.22 million, after selling 1,707 shares in the first quarter.
• Hilton Worldwide has reported a 2nd quarter EPS of $2.20, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.16, with a revenue increase of 6.3% year-over-year to $3.14 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, with an ex-dividend date of August 29th, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.2%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP decreased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,474 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,707 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.11% of Hilton Worldwide worth $57,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HLT. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 7,323 shares of the company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.9% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 0.5% during the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 10,439 shares of the company's stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 890 shares of the company's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 5.8% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 961 shares of the company's stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $240.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $276.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.40.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $262.47. 1,957,942 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,888,753. The company has a market cap of $61.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.26. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.04 and a 1 year high of $279.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $262.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.26.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.16. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.13%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is presently 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.