Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases Shares of 29,000 Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 29,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $710,000. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.08% of Heritage Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,684,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 24,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Heritage Financial by 13.0% in 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 period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,722,000 after purchasing an additional 4,012 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

In related news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total value of $166,400.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 70,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. This represents a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,311 shares of company stock valued at $369,193 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Heritage Financial Price Performance

HFWA traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $21.85. 141,661 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 208,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $742.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $23.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.11.

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

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. This is a boost from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is 77.42%.

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.