Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $425,000 Stock Holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 982,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,028,000 after acquiring an additional 45,052 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 928,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,136,000 after acquiring an additional 65,662 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 535,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,739,000 after acquiring an additional 137,915 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 452,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Heritage Financial by 1,585.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,688,000 after acquiring an additional 270,354 shares in the last quarter. 78.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Heritage Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Heritage Financial stock opened at $18.26 on Thursday. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $14.85 and a 12-month high of $22.55. The stock has a market cap of $632.80 million, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.34 and its 200-day moving average is $18.77.

Heritage Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HFWA has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson cut their target price on Heritage Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Heritage Financial from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Heritage Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.25.

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.