Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 81,448 Shares of Hilltop Holdings Inc. $HTH

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH) by 39.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 286,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 81,448 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hilltop were worth $10,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Hilltop by 41.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilltop by 623.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 68,648 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Hilltop by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 236.4% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 461,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,044,000 after purchasing an additional 324,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilltop by 32.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 796,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,247,000 after purchasing an additional 192,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hilltop

In other news, Director Rhodes R. Bobbitt sold 10,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $380,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 87,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,306,608. The trade was a 10.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Keith E. Bornemann sold 2,000 shares of Hilltop stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $76,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,656. This trade represents a 20.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,206,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HTH shares. Zacks Research raised Hilltop from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hilltop from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hilltop from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

Hilltop Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:HTH opened at $39.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.30. Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.20 and a 52 week high of $40.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.88.

Hilltop (NYSE:HTH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $315.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.18 million. Hilltop had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 7.37%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hilltop Holdings Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilltop Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Hilltop’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Hilltop’s dividend payout ratio is 29.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Hilltop

Here are the key news stories impacting Hilltop this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hilltop posted Q2 2026 earnings of $0.63 per share, topping expectations, with revenue of $315.8 million also above estimates. Management cited higher revenues, stronger net interest income, and improving credit quality as key drivers, which should support investor confidence. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the quarterly dividend to $0.22 per share, a 10% boost from the prior $0.20 payout, signaling confidence in cash generation and returning more capital to shareholders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Hilltop also said it is boosting capital returns, including a higher share repurchase program, which can be viewed favorably by investors seeking earnings support and reduced share count over time. Article Title

Hilltop Company Profile

Hilltop Holdings, Inc (NYSE: HTH) is a Dallas, Texas–based financial holding company offering commercial banking, mortgage lending and capital markets services through its three primary subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Corporation, PrimeLending and HilltopSecurities. PlainsCapital provides deposit, lending and treasury management solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and individuals. PrimeLending specializes in home purchase and refinance loans, serving retail, wholesale and correspondent channels.