Creative Planning Sells 7,656 Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF)

Creative Planning trimmed its holdings in Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,743 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,656 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning owned approximately 0.06% of Heartland Financial USA worth $1,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HTLF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,232,944 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,591,000 after purchasing an additional 88,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 33.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 5,869 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 12,795 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Heartland Financial USA by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 25,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 11,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the bank’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Heartland Financial USA news, EVP Lo B. Nestman sold 4,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.14, for a total value of $220,064.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.60.

Heartland Financial USA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $57.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.27 and its 200 day moving average is $48.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81 and a beta of 0.95. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.44 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $188.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.19 million. Heartland Financial USA had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

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.