SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 23,738 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 85.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,738 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 4th quarter worth about $331,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 480,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,455,000 after purchasing an additional 15,346 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,056,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Hilltop by 112.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,428,000 after purchasing an additional 56,537 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Hilltop Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Hilltop stock opened at $32.48 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.67 and a twelve month high of $35.32. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.74 and its 200 day moving average is $31.04.

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

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. Hilltop’s payout ratio is currently 39.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,968. This trade represents a 21.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 29.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HTH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Hilltop from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lowered Hilltop from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.