Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $6.99 Million Stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,166 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of Hilltop worth $6,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Hilltop by 187.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 511,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,443,000 after purchasing an additional 333,695 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,393,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $168,918,000 after buying an additional 153,697 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Hilltop in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,230,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Hilltop by 43.2% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 116,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,632,000 after acquiring an additional 35,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Performance

Hilltop stock opened at $31.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.74 and a 200-day moving average of $31.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 1.14. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.58 and a 52 week high of $35.66.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.09. Hilltop had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 4.90%. The firm had revenue of $411.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $302.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.72%.

Insider Transactions at Hilltop

In other Hilltop news, Director Hill A. Feinberg sold 17,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.99, for a total transaction of $566,009.43. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 544,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,978,857.21. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin Bradley Winges sold 30,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.61, for a total transaction of $1,006,051.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 77,748 shares in the company, valued at $2,535,362.28. This trade represents a 28.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 29.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.