Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Hilton Worldwide has increased its dividend payment by an average of 58.7% per year over the last three years. Hilton Worldwide has a payout ratio of 7.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $8.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.3%.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $203.93. 1,754,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,502,412. The company's fifty day moving average price is $205.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.45. The company has a market cap of $51.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $134.43 and a one year high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.12. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $216.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.