HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Stock Holdings Boosted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,206 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of HBT Financial worth $2,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in HBT Financial by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in HBT Financial by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in HBT Financial by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,758 shares of the company's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company's stock worth $6,764,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HBT Financial

In other news, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total value of $198,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,374.60. This trade represents a 14.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of HBT Financial stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.50. 76,470 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,333. The firm has a market capitalization of $678.52 million, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.62. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $26.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 24.99%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. This is a positive change from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HBT. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $24.50 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.75.

About HBT Financial

HBT Financial, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company that provides business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and municipal entities in Central and Northeastern Illinois, and Eastern Iowa. The company's deposits accounts consist of noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.