Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 50,300 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 50,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.72% of Heritage Financial worth $6,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 195,541 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 357.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 112,419 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 22,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 33,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Heritage Financial by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 67,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 44,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Heritage Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.54. 85,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 258,966. The stock has a market cap of $766.16 million, a PE ratio of 18.18 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.33 and a 200 day moving average of $24.15. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is presently 77.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Heritage Financial news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total transaction of $101,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This trade represents a 50.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. This trade represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,311 shares of company stock valued at $369,193. Company 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.