324,709 Shares in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT) Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in HBT Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:HBT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 324,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,111,000. LPL Financial LLC owned about 1.03% of HBT Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HBT. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in HBT Financial by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,335 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of HBT Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of HBT Financial by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of HBT Financial by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in shares of HBT Financial in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.55% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at HBT Financial

In related news, Chairman Fred L. Drake sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.38, for a total value of $243,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick F. Busch sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 182,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,140. The trade was a 4.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $969,500. Corporate insiders own 59.80% of the company's stock.

HBT Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:HBT traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.50. The company had a trading volume of 76,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,333. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.98. The company has a market capitalization of $678.52 million, a PE ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.62. HBT Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.00 and a 52 week high of $26.25.

HBT Financial (NASDAQ:HBT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.04. HBT Financial had a net margin of 24.99% and a return on equity of 14.57%. On average, equities research analysts predict that HBT Financial, Inc. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HBT Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $15.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HBT Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is an increase from HBT Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. HBT Financial's dividend payout ratio is 37.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HBT shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of HBT Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of HBT Financial in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $24.50 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HBT Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $24.75.

HBT Financial Profile

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.