Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 199.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,281 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,903,000 after buying an additional 725,257 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial during the third quarter worth about $1,194,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 105.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 73,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 37,606 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 46.9% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 65,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 20,792 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 90.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 16,489 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA traded up $0.45 on Monday, hitting $24.23. 194,256 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 191,782. Heritage Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.55 and a fifty-two week high of $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $823.60 million, a P/E ratio of 19.54 and a beta of 0.53. The business's fifty day moving average is $24.48 and its 200 day moving average is $24.03.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is currently 77.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Heritage Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total value of $101,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This represents a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,311 shares of company stock valued at $369,193. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.