UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,375 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Heritage Financial worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $280,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 46,260 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 29,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $732,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on HFWA shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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 Stock Down 0.9%

HFWA traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.60. 159,306 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,612. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $804.90 million, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. Heritage Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $16.55 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $57.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.74 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is 64.86%.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $166,400.78. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $80,677.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at $992,832.33. This represents a 7.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Heritage Financial 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.