Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 32,206 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Hilltop Holdings by 12.9%, selling 32,206 shares, and now owns 217,830 shares worth $6.63 million.
• Insider trading includes Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchasing 10,000 shares, raising his ownership to 127,429 shares valued at approximately $4.51 million.
• The stock received an upgrade from Wall Street Zen, changing its rating from "sell" to "hold," with a consensus price target of $32.00.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 217,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,206 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.34% of Hilltop worth $6,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. 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 worth $2,150,000 after buying 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 worth $812,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $683,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 13,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 4,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 85.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 797,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,846,000 after purchasing an additional 367,564 shares in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $35.36 per share, with a total value of $353,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 127,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,505,889.44. This trade represents a 8.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have purchased 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 over the last quarter. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hilltop Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Hilltop stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.28. 464,098 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,872. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.69. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.67 and a fifty-two week high of $36.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.18 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.29%.

Hilltop Company 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.