Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 32.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,164 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.11% of Hilltop worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 117,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,359,000 after purchasing an additional 10,729 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 68,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 14,215 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 153,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 137,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,925,000 after purchasing an additional 31,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Hilltop from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hilltop Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE HTH traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.34. 310,232 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,269. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.00. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $26.67 and a one year high of $35.32. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $318.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.68 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.87% and a return on equity of 5.79%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Hilltop's 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.