John K. Schmidt Sells 22,500 Shares of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Stock

Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:HTLF) Director John K. Schmidt sold 22,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.32, for a total transaction of $1,537,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,136,161.12. This trade represents a 27.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Heartland Financial USA Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HTLF opened at $66.07 on Friday. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.67 and a 52-week high of $69.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.23.

Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. The company had revenue of $272.79 million for 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts expect that Heartland Financial USA, Inc. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Heartland Financial USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Heartland Financial USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Heartland Financial USA in a research note on Friday, November 8th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Slotnik Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Heartland Financial USA by 14.6% during the third quarter. Slotnik Capital LLC now owns 353,534 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,045,000 after purchasing an additional 45,000 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Heartland Financial USA by 260.1% in the third quarter. Westchester Capital Management LLC now owns 582,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,049,000 after acquiring an additional 421,000 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Heartland Financial USA by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P acquired a new stake in Heartland Financial USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $935,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Heartland Financial USA by 18.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Heartland Financial USA

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.