Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 18,263 Shares of Heritage Financial Corporation $HFWA

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,263 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Heritage Financial worth $4,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Heritage Financial by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,977,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,979,000 after buying an additional 225,201 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Heritage Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 828,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,741,000 after acquiring an additional 3,447 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Heritage Financial by 13.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 504,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,027,000 after acquiring an additional 59,633 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at $10,775,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Heritage Financial by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 393,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,384,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HFWA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Heritage Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Heritage Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Stephens increased their price target on Heritage Financial from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Heritage Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Heritage Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HFWA opened at $28.09 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.21. The stock has a market cap of $953.94 million, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.53. Heritage Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.84 and a 1-year high of $28.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $66.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.95 million. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 8.61% and a net margin of 20.10%. Research analysts anticipate that Heritage Financial Corporation will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Heritage Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Heritage Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Heritage Financial

In related news, EVP Tony Chalfant sold 4,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.65, for a total value of $129,070.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $549,405.50. The trade was a 19.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Bryan Mcdonald purchased 19,106 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.32 per share, for a total transaction of $426,445.92. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 31,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,022.16. This represents a 155.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,368 shares of company stock worth $226,740 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HFWA) is a bank holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Through its primary subsidiary, Heritage Bank, the company provides a comprehensive range of banking and financial services to both individual and commercial clients. Heritage Bank’s offerings encompass deposit products, lending solutions, treasury and cash management services, mortgage banking, and wealth management, positioning the organization as a full-service community bank.

The company’s lending portfolio includes commercial real estate loans, agricultural loans, small business administration (SBA) loans, construction and development financing, and a variety of consumer mortgage products.