Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 404,360 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Hilltop worth $3,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth $185,000. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop during the third quarter worth $203,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Shares of HTH traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.64. 163,912 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,070. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.67 and a 1-year high of $35.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.16 and a 200-day moving average of $31.33.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $411.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $302.29 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Hilltop's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.72%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In related news, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total value of $1,006,051.11. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,535,362.28. The trade was a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares in the company, valued at $291,968. The trade was a 21.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 29.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTH has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Hilltop from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hilltop from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

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.