Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,679 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Heartland Financial USA worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HTLF. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Heartland Financial USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $167,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,244,151 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,032,000 after acquiring an additional 11,207 shares during the last quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $696,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $209,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ HTLF opened at $67.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.66 and its 200 day moving average is $52.03. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.67 and a 52 week high of $69.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.61 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s payout ratio is 67.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Heartland Financial USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. The trade was a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Heartland Financial USA Company Profile

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.