Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 564 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hilltop were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hilltop by 64.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hilltop by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,982 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the period. 57.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hilltop Price Performance

Shares of HTH opened at $30.37 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.67 and a 12 month high of $35.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.90. The company has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HTH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James cut shares of Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

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.