Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH - Free Report) by 187.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 511,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 333,695 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.78% of Hilltop worth $16,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hilltop in the second quarter valued at $69,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hilltop in the third quarter worth about $203,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilltop by 91.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the 1st quarter valued at about $275,000. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Hilltop stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.21. 362,385 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 309,392. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.82 and a 200 day moving average of $31.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.13. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.96 and a fifty-two week high of $35.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.07. Hilltop had a return on equity of 5.30% and a net margin of 7.10%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $302.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilltop Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Hilltop's payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total value of $566,009.43. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 544,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,978,857.21. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 28.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HTH shares. Stephens upped their price target on Hilltop from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hilltop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Hilltop 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.