Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stock Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. significantly reduced its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. by 56.1%, owning 31,910 shares valued at approximately $968,000 post-sale.
• Insider transactions included Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquiring 10,000 shares, increasing his holdings by 8.52% to nearly $4.5 million in stock value.
• Hilltop's stock is currently rated as a "hold" by analysts, with a target price of $32.00, while the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding 2.1% annually.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,852 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Hilltop were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HTH. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Hilltop by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 110,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 22,695 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 4,242.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 17,225 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Hilltop by 19.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 2,651 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Hilltop by 182.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 7,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Hilltop by 2.1% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $35.36 per share, for a total transaction of $353,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 127,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,505,889.44. This represents a 8.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have bought 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800. Company insiders own 29.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Hilltop Trading Up 0.5%

Hilltop stock opened at $33.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 0.88. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $36.13.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $310.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.29%.

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.

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