Raymond James & Associates Increases Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 290,108 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,710 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.12% of Hilton Worldwide worth $61,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 66.7% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 125 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of HLT traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $197.54. 1,853,124 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,624,263. The company has a market cap of $49.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.26. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.43 and a 1 year high of $215.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.41.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 81.29% and a net margin of 11.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.30%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $176.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $207.59.

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.