138,960 Shares in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 138,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,978,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.21% of Hilltop at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Hilltop by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Hilltop by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 134,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of Hilltop by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 16,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on HTH. Raymond James raised Hilltop from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Hilltop Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HTH traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.80. 27,127 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 340,601. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.42. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $26.67 and a one year high of $35.32.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.37. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. The firm had revenue of $318.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is 36.55%.

About Hilltop

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.