UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stake in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,764 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Heritage Financial worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HFWA. 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 worth $755,000 after buying an additional 16,489 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $338,000. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,194,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $37,903,000 after purchasing an additional 725,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 113,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,762 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 2,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.50, for a total value of $78,837.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $533,153.50. This represents a 12.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lifted their price target on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Heritage Financial Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $24.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.93. The company has a market capitalization of $820.38 million, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.55. Heritage Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $16.55 and a twelve month high of $27.58.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $81.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.17 million. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 7.01%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.19%.

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.