Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 49,900 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its Hilltop Holdings stake by 43.3% in the first quarter, buying 49,900 additional shares and bringing its total to 165,263 shares valued at about $5.92 million.
• Insider selling has continued, with CAO Keith E. Bornemann and Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt both selling shares in recent months; insiders have sold 32,000 shares worth about $1.206 million over the last 90 days.
• Hilltop reported solid quarterly results and pays a dividend, beating EPS expectations with $0.64 per share and recently paying a $0.20 quarterly dividend, implying an annual yield of about 2.1%.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 43.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,900 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Hilltop worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HTH. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 584.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Hilltop by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $76,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,912 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,656. This trade represents a 20.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,306,608. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,000. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hilltop from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hilltop from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.50.

Hilltop Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE HTH opened at $38.25 on Tuesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.20 and a 12 month high of $40.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $37.91 and its 200 day moving average is $37.20.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $300.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $304.87 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.13% and a return on equity of 7.32%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings, Inc NYSE: HTH is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.

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