Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stake Trimmed by Jane Street Group LLC

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,085 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Heritage Financial worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HFWA. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $54,066,000 after purchasing an additional 465,708 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,068,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,674,000 after buying an additional 33,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 8,731 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 433,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,625,000 after buying an additional 6,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 433,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,616,000 after purchasing an additional 46,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.38. 156,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 214,539. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $797.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $61.74 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

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.