Connable Office Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Connable Office Inc. lessened its holdings in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 4.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,820 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in Heartland Financial USA were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 3.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 153,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,032,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 506.3% in the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 394,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,852,000 after purchasing an additional 329,095 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday, November 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

Heartland Financial USA stock opened at $66.07 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.94. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.67 and a twelve month high of $69.91.

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

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors 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 yield of 1.82%. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is presently 67.04%.

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.