Royce & Associates LP Sells 45,048 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,048 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.66% of Heritage Financial worth $5,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HFWA. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 113,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,463,000 after buying an additional 5,762 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Heritage Financial by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,903,000 after buying an additional 725,257 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at about $1,194,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Heritage Financial during the third quarter valued at about $338,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 90.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 16,489 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company's stock.

Heritage Financial Price Performance

Shares of Heritage Financial stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.78. 2,465,100 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 191,772. The company has a market capitalization of $808.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.02. 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 52-week low of $16.55 and a 52-week high of $27.58.

Remove Ads

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Heritage Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Heritage Financial

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 shares were sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total value of $101,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,752.92. This trade represents a 50.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,311 shares of company stock valued at $369,193. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.