Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Stake Lessened by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 34,980 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $24,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company's stock worth $1,952,314,000 after buying an additional 919,424 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,999,000 after acquiring an additional 685,023 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 426.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 762,261 shares of the company's stock worth $188,400,000 after acquiring an additional 617,604 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $235.00 price target (down from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $242.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 2.9 %

HLT traded up $6.62 on Thursday, hitting $232.10. 1,071,175 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,732,949. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $228.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.48. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.93 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $55.62 billion, a PE ratio of 37.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.19.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

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.