Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 85.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,840 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Heritage Financial worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,066,000 after purchasing an additional 465,708 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,722,000 after buying an additional 4,012 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,623,000 after buying an additional 8,731 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 189,719 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,648,000 after buying an additional 5,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,684,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company's stock.

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Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $24.39. 152,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 192,026. The firm has a market cap of $829.04 million, a PE ratio of 19.67 and a beta of 0.53. 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 quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.07.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS 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, analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is presently 77.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total value of $80,677.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total value of $101,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,752.92. The trade was a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,311 shares of company stock worth $369,193. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Heritage Financial

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.