Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 381,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 174,684 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 1.12% of Heritage Financial worth $9,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $280,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter worth $274,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 26.7% in 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 during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 199.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 16,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 11,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 112.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 195,541 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on HFWA shares. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.10. 220,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 212,950. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.32. The firm has a market cap of $787.85 million, a PE ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $16.55 and a 52 week high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. On average, equities analysts expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

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

Heritage Financial Company Profile

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.