Prudential Financial Inc. Has $1.65 Million Position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,797 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Hilltop worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Hilltop by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Hilltop by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HTH. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Hilltop Price Performance

HTH traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.23. 32,152 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,983. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.70. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.00.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.18% and a net margin of 7.04%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a positive change from Hilltop's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

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.