UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 21,375 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 41.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,375 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in Heritage Financial by 519.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 3,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HFWA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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.

Heritage Financial Stock Up 0.5%

HFWA stock traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $23.43. 208,014 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.09. Heritage Financial Co. has a one year low of $16.55 and a one year high of $27.58. The company has a market cap of $799.10 million, a P/E ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.55.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.74 million. Research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors 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 yield of 4.10%. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

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.