Invesco Ltd. Boosts Position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 112.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 195,541 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.08% of Heritage Financial worth $9,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $166,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $168,000. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth $229,000. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HFWA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock worth $267,473. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of HFWA traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.73. 26,293 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 209,756. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Heritage Financial Co. has a one year low of $16.55 and a one year high of $27.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.23 and a 200 day moving average of $24.22.

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

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio is 77.42%.

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.