Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 6,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 86,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,684,000 after acquiring an additional 11,748 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at $2,822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $199.00 target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.28.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

HLT stock opened at $202.47 on Wednesday. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.43 and a 52 week high of $215.79. The company has a market capitalization of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $204.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.50.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.86%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

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.