Millennium Management LLC Sells 11,330 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,330 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.10% of Heritage Financial worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 794.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $157,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $166,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This represents a 7.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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. This represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Monday, April 28th.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $23.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Heritage Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $16.55 and a twelve month high of $27.58. The stock has a market cap of $795.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.85 and its 200 day moving average is $24.11.

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

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given 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 yield of 4.12%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

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.

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