3,991 Shares in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,991 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.1% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,657,168 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,111,000 after acquiring an additional 54,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,384,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,999,000 after purchasing an additional 182,245 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,579,000 after purchasing an additional 53,755 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Heartland Financial USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,626,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2,309.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 710,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,601,000 after buying an additional 681,412 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $62.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.04 and a 200-day moving average of $55.78. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a one year low of $32.03 and a one year high of $70.27.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The business had revenue of $272.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.51 million. Heartland Financial USA had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 8.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark A. Frank sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.24, for a total transaction of $29,047.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,274.40. The trade was a 28.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total value of $1,537,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This represents a 27.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,743 shares of company stock worth $1,958,839 over the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Heartland Financial USA 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.