Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 15,840 Shares of Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Heritage Financial Co. (NASDAQ:HFWA) by 85.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,840 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Heritage Financial worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Heritage Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $274,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Heritage Financial during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Heritage Financial in the third quarter valued at $307,000. 78.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Heritage Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ HFWA opened at $23.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.03. Heritage Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $16.55 and a 12 month high of $27.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $808.31 million, a P/E ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.53.

Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.06. Heritage Financial had a net margin of 13.64% and a return on equity of 7.17%. On average, analysts predict that Heritage Financial Co. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Heritage Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Heritage Financial

In other news, CEO Jeffrey J. Deuel sold 7,033 shares of Heritage Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.66, for a total transaction of $166,400.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 70,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,677,635.96. The trade was a 9.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Donald Hinson sold 3,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.59, for a total transaction of $80,677.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $992,832.33. The trade was a 7.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,311 shares of company stock worth $369,193 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

About Heritage Financial

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.