Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,249,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 3.66% of Heritage Financial worth $30,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $280,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 10,068 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Heritage Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $274,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Heritage Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 189,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 5,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heritage Financial by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 118,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,912,000 after acquiring an additional 5,723 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.30% of the company’s stock.

Heritage Financial Stock Performance

HFWA opened at $23.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $807.97 million, a PE ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day moving average of $24.00. Heritage Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $16.55 and a 52-week high of $27.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a return on equity of 7.17% and a net margin of 13.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 6th. This is a boost from Heritage Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Heritage Financial’s payout ratio is currently 77.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Heritage Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Frederick B. Rivera sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.43, for a total transaction of $101,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,752.92. The trade was a 50.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Heritage Financial Company Profile

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.