Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,068,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,429 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.06% of Heritage Financial worth $50,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,066,000 after buying an additional 465,708 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,623,000 after acquiring an additional 8,731 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 433,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,616,000 after acquiring an additional 46,769 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 112.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,051,000 after purchasing an additional 195,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 225,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 102,665 shares during the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HFWA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

HFWA traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 209,915. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $16.55 and a 52-week high of $27.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $789.27 million, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. The firm had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.74 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock worth $267,473. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.