Tiptree Inc. (NASDAQ:TIPT) Short Interest Down 33.5% in December

Tiptree Inc. (NASDAQ:TIPT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 124,800 shares, a drop of 33.5% from the December 15th total of 187,700 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 80,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Trading of Tiptree

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TIPT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Tiptree by 11.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 114,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 11,901 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Tiptree by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Tiptree during the 2nd quarter worth about $671,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Tiptree by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 18,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Tiptree by 114.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 51,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Tiptree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Tiptree Stock Performance

Shares of TIPT remained flat at $20.03 during trading hours on Thursday. 148,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 97,591. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.76. Tiptree has a 1-year low of $14.96 and a 1-year high of $24.09. The firm has a market cap of $742.31 million, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 1.32.

Tiptree Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Tiptree’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.74%.

About Tiptree

Tiptree Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides specialty insurance products and related services primarily in the United States. It operates through two segments: Insurance and Mortgage. The company offers niche; commercial lines insurance products, including professional liability, general liability, contractual liability protection, property and other short-tail, and alternative risks insurance products; and personal lines insurance products, such as credit protection surrounding loan payments.