Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 8,227 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,227 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings 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 valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Hilltop by 36.7% in the third 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. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new stake in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $28.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.52. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.67 and a 1 year high of $35.32.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is an increase from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upgraded Hilltop from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

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.