Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH Stock Holdings Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 26.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,183 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Hilltop worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Hilltop by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 27,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 5,933 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 33,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 7,998 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Hilltop by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 75,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 24,515 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hilltop by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Hilltop by 228.7% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 7,617 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.4%

HTH stock opened at $35.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 0.87. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.55.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The company had revenue of $303.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.18 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is presently 32.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilltop

In other news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.75 per share, for a total transaction of $347,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 107,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,733,157.75. This represents a 10.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have acquired 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,669,200 in the last ninety days. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Hilltop has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.00.

Hilltop Profile

Hilltop Holdings Inc provides business and consumer banking services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance.