Steele Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Steele Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF - Free Report) by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,246 shares of the bank's stock after selling 23,596 shares during the quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,060 shares of the bank's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $83,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $125,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 2,193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,775 shares of the bank's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the third quarter valued at about $238,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ HTLF opened at $64.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.43 and a 200-day moving average of $51.93. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.67 and a 12 month high of $69.91.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $189.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Heartland Financial USA's dividend payout ratio is 67.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.60.

About Heartland Financial USA

Heartland Financial USA, Inc, a bank holding company, provides commercial, small business, and consumer banking services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, demand deposit accounts, NOW accounts, savings, money market, and individual retirement; certificates of deposit; and other time deposits.

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