Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA - Free Report) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,426 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.14% of Heritage Financial worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Heritage Financial by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 49,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 18.0% during the fourth 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. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,594,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,722,000 after buying an additional 4,012 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 35.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 4,242 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 198,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 207,496. The company has a market capitalization of $712.79 million, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.47. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $23.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.12.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts expect that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.58%. This is an increase from Heritage Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial's payout ratio is presently 77.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owns 3,844 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,311 shares of company stock worth $369,193. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.