Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 12,287 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. by 17.9% during the first quarter, holding a position worth $1.71 million after selling 12,287 shares.
• Insider activity shows that Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares on August 27, increasing his ownership to 127,429 shares, valued at approximately $4.5 million.
• Hilltop Holdings recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 32.29%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,287 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Hilltop worth $1,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Hilltop during the first quarter valued at $56,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 134.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 18.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop during the first quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $193,000. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company's stock.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE HTH traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $35.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 314,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,544. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.67 and a 1 year high of $35.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $31.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. Hilltop had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The firm had revenue of $303.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $310.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised 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, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Jonathan S. Sobel purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was acquired 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 60,000 shares of company stock worth $2,022,800 over the last three months. 29.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.