HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 712,412 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,041 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 2.26% of HBT Financial worth $15,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 332,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,287,000 after buying an additional 32,146 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $7,111,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HBT Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 309,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in HBT Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,438 shares of the company's stock worth $5,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in HBT Financial by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 133,206 shares of the company's stock worth $2,917,000 after buying an additional 13,250 shares during the last quarter. 78.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 58,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,374.60. This trade represents a 14.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of HBT Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.77, for a total transaction of $198,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 182,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,508,140. This represents a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock worth $969,500 over the last three months. 59.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HBT Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HBT opened at $21.99 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $18.01 and a one year high of $26.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.98. The stock has a market cap of $693.98 million, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.62.

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, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This is a positive change from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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