Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 171,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,816 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.26% of Hilltop worth $4,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hilltop during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Hilltop during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Hilltop in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hilltop by 64.0% in the 4th 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. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hilltop Stock Performance

Hilltop stock opened at $30.37 on Wednesday. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.67 and a fifty-two week high of $35.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.90.

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 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%. On average, analysts predict that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

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.