Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Stock Holdings Boosted by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,704 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.70% of Hilltop worth $13,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 5.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Hilltop by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 26,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Hilltop by 64.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilltop Stock Up 4.1 %

NYSE:HTH opened at $32.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.12. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.67 and a 52-week high of $35.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.27. Hilltop had a net margin of 7.04% and a return on equity of 5.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HTH has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hilltop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,968. This represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

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.