Barclays PLC Sells 2,400 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Barclays PLC lessened its holdings in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 70,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Heritage Financial were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Heritage Financial by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,206,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,066,000 after buying an additional 465,708 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 112.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 369,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 195,541 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 357.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 143,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 112,419 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 225,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,536,000 after purchasing an additional 102,665 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Heritage Financial by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 433,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,616,000 after purchasing an additional 46,769 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $23.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84. 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 50 day simple moving average of $23.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.22. The company has a market capitalization of $801.51 million, a PE ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.47.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $57.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.74 million. Research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 64.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HFWA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Heritage Financial from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Heritage Financial from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other Heritage Financial news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of Heritage Financial 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the company’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 $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,311 shares of company stock valued at $267,473 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.