Independent Director of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Judith McHale Buys 219% More Shares

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Independent Director, Judith McHale, recently bought a whopping US$1.0m worth of stock, at a price of US$211. That purchase boosted their holding by 219%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

View our latest analysis for Hilton Worldwide Holdings

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the President, Christopher Nassetta, for US$4.3m worth of shares, at about US$194 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$217). When an insider sells below the current price, it suggests that they considered that lower price to be fair. That makes us wonder what they think of the (higher) recent valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 0.7% of Christopher Nassetta's stake.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 6.75k shares for US$1.4m. But they sold 34.54k shares for US$6.3m. Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Hilton Worldwide Holdings shares, than buying. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

Insider Ownership

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Hilton Worldwide Holdings insiders own about US$934m worth of shares (which is 1.8% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Do The Hilton Worldwide Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. However, the longer term transactions are not so encouraging. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by an insider suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs (1 is concerning!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.