Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 46,762 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. by 0.9%, selling 46,762 shares, and now owns approximately 8.32% of the company valued at $162.5 million.
• Hilltop announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 2.2% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 32.29%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Hilltop Holdings have left the company with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $32.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,336,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 46,762 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.32% of Hilltop worth $162,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 827.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 134.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Hilltop by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter worth about $193,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.75 per share, with a total value of $347,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 107,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,733,157.75. This represents a 10.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,669,200 over the last three months. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Hilltop from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Hilltop Price Performance

NYSE HTH traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.21. 652,022 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,669. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $35.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.52.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $303.31 million during 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 previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

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