Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,438,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,741 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.14% of Heritage Financial worth $59,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 105.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised 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 worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 20,792 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter worth $274,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,066,000 after acquiring an additional 465,708 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. This trade represents a 9.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,752.92. This represents a 50.99 % 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. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ HFWA traded up $0.15 on Thursday, reaching $21.90. 24,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 262,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $744.23 million, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.47. Heritage Financial Co. has a one year low of $16.55 and a one year high of $27.58. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $23.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.11. 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 (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. Analysts expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is an increase from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Heritage Financial Company 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.